


He Was My First

by ElenaDamonForever81



Category: SEAL Team (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:35:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 50,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25273270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElenaDamonForever81/pseuds/ElenaDamonForever81
Summary: One shots of Clay taking Emma's virginity
Relationships: Emma Hayes/Clay Spenser
Comments: 72
Kudos: 96





	1. Backyard

Jason had to Mikey to a week-long hockey tournament and left Emma in the capable hands of Clay Spenser. Clay and Emma had been a couple for about 6 weeks and it was still something Jason was trying to get used to. He was hesitate to leave Emma at home all alone, even though she was 18 years old and that caused an argument. 

FLASHBACK

"Dad, I'm 18. I can stay at home without anyone looking after me for a week while you go with Mikey." 

"I'm just not comfortable leaving you at home by yourself." 

"Dad, this is Virginia Beach, not Baghdad." Emma said as she followed Jason into the kitchen, where Clay and Sonny were sipping on their beers and trying to stay out of the conversation. 

"Right, if it was Baghdad you wouldn't be wearing those shorts or that top and you would be listening to me without arguing with me." 

"Yeah, well, this is America, you know 'land of the free'. I have a voice and I say that I am not going to stay with someone like a child." 

"You are going to stay with someone, that's final. Why can't you be cooperative?" 

Before Emma could say anything else, Clay said, "why don't I stay here with Em?"

Jason, Emma, and Sonny looked at Clay and Jason said throwing his hands in the air, "oh, that's just perfect, my teenage daughter spending a week alone with her boyfriend." 

"Actually, daddy, I like that idea." 

"So now, you are completely okay with someone staying here because Spenser volunteered. Why doesn't that surprise me?"

"You told me you wanted me to be more cooperative." Emma smiled at him. Jason glared at her. 

"Come on Jace, what could go wrong? Emma and Clay, here, alone, with no supervision. The worst thing that could happen is... well, you know what the worst thing that could happen is already, Grandpa." Sonny said as he slapped Jason's shoulder.

"Uncle Sonny!" Emma yelled and blushed. 

"What, princess, you and Spenser have been dating for like two months. We aren't stupid. We know that you and Spenser have had to have had sex by now." Sonny said, which made Clay start blushing, Emma blush more and Jason turn his murderous glare on Clay and Sonny. 

"We don't know that for sure." Jason said in complete denial.

"Jason, that ship has sailed." Sonny said moving to exit the room. 

"First of all, my baby girl isn't a ship, but if she was... the ship could sink and everyone on board could drown, we can't give up hope on that." Jason said walking after him but turned to his daughter and Clay. "I better not be a grandfather anytime soon." He pointed at them both, then turned to walk after Sonny. 

Clay and Emma sat in the kitchen, not looking at each other. In the 6 weeks that they had been officially dating, the two of them hadn't had sex yet. Emma had never had a real boyfriend and she had never had sex. Clay was respecting her and letting her lead their physical relationship. Sure, over the past 6 weeks they kissed and explored each other, but nothing too intense. 

"Will you really stay with me?" Emma asked.

"Of course. I can't wait to spend the week alone with you." 

END FLASHBACK

Jason and Mikey had left for his hockey tournament the next morning and Clay had brought two bangs of clothes over so he could stay the week. Jason told him he could sleep in the master bedroom or the guestroom. Emma was making dinner for herself and Clay when she got an idea. She wanted to make love to him, but she could tell that he was hesitant. She had a plan but she needed for Clay to go do something while she got everything together.

"How long before dinners done?" Clay asked as he came up behind her and kissed the back of her head.

"About 45 minutes. Baby, you look tired so why don't you go take a short nap?" Emma said as she was plotting her plan.

"That's a good idea. I need a shower too. I'll be in the guestroom." Clay said as he pulled her mouth to his lips and kissed her softly. He moved towards the stairs and she heard the door to the guestroom shut. Emma leaped into action, she went to the hall closet and got out the candles that her mom used to keep. She walked out onto the patio and lit the candles, then placed them in a large circle. After that she walked up stairs and got a lot of spare blankets and pillows, then placed them on the patio floor like a make-shift bed. She went back up the stairs and changed into a nightgown she bought last week when she went shopping with Hannah. She got dinner out of the oven and placed it on two plates. She grabbed her a soda and him a beer then walked outside. She put the food down on the patio and walked to the end of the stairs. 

"Clay, baby, it's time for dinner." She yelled up the stairs and waiting for a response.

"Okay, I'm just getting out of the shower. Be down in just a minute." 

Emma walked out to the patio and sat down on the blanket. Clay came down stairs and walked into the kitchen, he didn't see Emma and called out to her. 

"I'm outside." Emma said and Clay walked out to the patio. Clay stopped when he saw the candles and Emma in a sexy nightgown. "I thought we could have a nice, romantic dinner outside."

Clay smiled and walked over to her. He sat down beside her and took the plate she offered him. They sat and ate for about 20 minutes before they finished their meal. Once they were finished, Emma took the plates and put both of them aside, then pushed Clay back onto the pillows and blankets before straddling him. 

"Emma, what are you doing?"

"I want you to make love to me." Emma said as she kissed him. Clay pulled back from her. 

"Emma. I don't think..." Clay began but he stopped when Emma huffed and climbed off his lap. 

"No, I get it. You don't want me. That's that." Emma said as she got the plates and walked into the kitchen. 

"Emma, that is not it. I do want you, I want you more than I have ever wanted anyone..."

"Really?" Emma said as she dropped the plates onto the counter and turned around towards him. "Because from where I am standing, it seems like you aren't that interested in me. So, if you don't want me, then why are you dating me?" 

"Emma, I do want you." Clay said as he made her look at him. He placed both his hands on her cheeks. "I do want you. I've never wanted anyone or anything like I want you." Clay kissed her. "I just don't want to mess this up." Clay whispered. 

"You are not going to mess anything up. This is what I want. I want you." Emma said as she leaned to kiss him. They kissed for a few moments until they pulled back. 

"Are you sure?" Clay asked and he took her hands. 

"Yes, Clay, I'm absolutely sure. You want to know why I've never had sex, it's because I've never found anyone I like enough to sleep with, anyone I felt was worthy enough to have something so special. I've never thought about it with anyone, except you. You are the only one." 

Clay kissed her and he moved to lead her towards the stairs, but she stopped him. She pulled him back towards the patio. They sat back down on the blankets and laid back. Emma was laying on her back while Clay was on his side. He kissed her lips, cheek, neck, and throat. He moved the straps of her nightgown so he could kiss her shoulders and her chest. Emma sat up and pulled her nightgown over her head, leaving her completely naked beside him. Clay's eyes roamed her body, hungrily. He kissed her lips and she moved to take off his shirt. His hands moved over her body as she kissed his Adam's apple and his chest. She pulled his sweatpants down and boxers, leaving him completely naked as well. Their hands roamed over each other. Clay climbed on top of her and settled between her legs. He slid himself inside her about an inch and she threw her head back on the pillows. He pulled back and thrust him two inches, then pulled back again and thrust in three inches. Emma wrapped her legs around his waist and locked her ankles. 

"Are you okay?" Clay asked breathless as he pulled back a fourth time. 

"Yeah, it's just... nothing has ever... you know and it feels so big." 

"Are you sure your okay?" He thrust in again about five inches. 

"Yeah, it's just getting snug."

"Maybe we should stop, I'm not even halfway in yet. I don't want to hurt you." 

"Clay, I don't want you to stop. Please."

"Just let me know if it gets too much and I will stop, okay?" Clay said and did not move until she nodded her head. He thrust in and out slowly and deeper with each thrust until he was completely inside her. He paused for a few moments to let her adjust. He thrust in and out of her but then he completely stopped. "Em, I'm not wearing protection."

"It's okay, I'm on birth control." 

"I think we should stop until I get a condom." 

"Clay, I want you. I want all of you. I want to feel everything during our first time." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yes, Clay, I'm absolutely sure." 

Clay began thrusting again and again. He sat up so she was in his lap and so he could hit her deeper. Emma gasped as he moved deeper inside her. She laid her head on his shoulder and dug her nails into his back. Clay wrapped his hands around her as she bounced up and down on his lap. 

"Clay, harder, please." Emma said as she kissed him and Clay responded by pulling her almost completely off his penis and slamming her back down, making her squeal. Emma was getting close and Clay slid his hand to her clit and rubbed. She started coming and Clay laid them back down so he could thrust inside her at a rapid pace. He kept rubbing his thumb against her clit and that drew out her pleasure. Clay thrust a few more times and then came inside her, groaning her name. Emma felt a rush of warmth coat her insides. They laid there for a few moments and then pulled out of her and rolled beside her. He grabbed her up and pulled her against him, kissing her on the head. 

"Are you okay?" 

"Yes, Clay. I am amazing."

"I didn't hurt you, scare you?"

Emma rolled on top of him and began kissing his chest. "You made me feel like the most important person in the world. I feel beautiful, safe, protection, and cherished. I feel everything except hurt and scared."

Clay moved to kiss her. "Why don't you go up to bed. I will put this all of this away and do the laundry, then come join you." Emma nodded and kissed him, before putting on her nightgown and moving to the stairs. It was going to be an amazing night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment on what you would like to see next! I hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	2. Backseat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clay and Emma explore their relationship like a couple of teenagers in the backseat of Clay's truck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you enjoy this chapter and please let me know if there is anything you would like the see me write.

Clay and Emma had been dating for 3 months. Clay had never felt like he had a connection with someone the way he felt with Emma. Emma was a teenager and he knew people wondered why he was in a relationship with her. But, the ones who know her, who know him, understand that she is more mature than anyone her age and most people his age. Everyone was enjoying their afternoon together and the food was amazing. It was getting late and a surprise storm began dropping rain. Everyone said their goodbye's and left, leaving just Emma, Clay, Mikey, and Jason. 

"Dad, is it okay if I spend the night at Clay's? We are going hiking early tomorrow morning." Emma asked Jason as they cleaned up the kitchen. Jason turned and looked at her, then back at Clay, who was helping Mikey with the trash. 

"You don't hike." 

"Yeah, but Clay wanted to do something together and I figured that he would like something like that." Emma said.

"Okay, but I want you home tomorrow night." 

"Ok, thanks daddy." Emma finished what she was doing and went to pack a bag. Clay and Emma said their goodbye's and left. 

Clay began to drive away and he looked at Emma, "we didn't make plans to hike tomorrow."

Emma laughed and said, "I know, but I wanted to spend some alone time with you." 

Clay looked at her and smiled. "So you lied to your dad, you know we could have just spent some time together tonight and spend the day together tomorrow."

"Some... sexy alone time. Look, I have never led the normal, stereotypical teenage girl life. I wanted to spend some time with my boyfriend and pretend that the world isn't on either of our shoulders."

"Can I take you somewhere I can show you the 'normal, stereotypical teenage girl life'?"

"Absolutely."

____________________________________________________________________

Clay pulled up to a secluded part of the woods near a walking trail, the rain was pouring down and hitting the roof of the truck. He made sure all the doors were locked and he unbuckled his seat belt. 

"Is this your way of giving me the teenage dream? Making out in the back of a truck in the pouring rain?" Emma asked as Clay climbed into the backseat. He held out his hand and she followed him. She settled beside him and smiled. He put his hands on her cheeks and kissed her lightly. A song came on the radio and Emma laughed. 

"What?" Clay asked as he pulled back. 

"Trisha Yearwood's 'Georgia Rain'. The perfect song for making out with your boyfriend in the backseat of the car."

Emma climbed onto Clay's lap and began to kiss him as he ran his hands over her body and under her dress. Emma pulled his shirt over his head and threw it in the floor. Clay pushed her dress up and over her head, leaving her in just a pair of panties and her bra. They kissed before Emma moved her lips to his chin, neck, chest and abs. She began to unbuckle his jeans, when he stopped her. 

"Emma, if we keep doing this, I don't know if I am going to be able to stop." Clay said and Emma looked at him.

"I don't want you to stop." She said as she resumed kissing a trial across his body. She kissed both his nipples while she unbuckled his pants belt, unbuttoned his jeans and unzipped them. 

Clay laid Emma down on the seat and began to kiss her beck and her breasts. He unclipped her bra and removed it from her body. He sucked each nipple into his mouth and then moved his lips down her body. He kissed her toned stomach all the way down to her panties. He moved to slip his pants down his body, leaving him only in his boxers. 

He looked up at her and she nodded. He removed her panties, leaving her completely naked in front of him for the first time. He moved her thighs over his shoulders and began to pleasure her. Emma moaned and clothes her eyes. The rain pouring down on the roof, the music on the radio and the way he was making her feel, made her come the moment he put his tongue inside her. He kept sucking on her clit until she screamed, "Clay!". She grabbed the headrest of front passenger seat with her right hand and slammed her left hand against backseat side window. 

Clay moved his lips back up her body and began running his fingers over her thighs and moved to her center. He thrust two fingers into her body and she moved her left arm to wrap around his shoulders as he moved to kiss her. He moved his fingers in and out of her while he messaged her clit. 

"Clay, I want you in me. Now, please." Emma moaned and Clay pulled his fingers out of her. They locked eyes and he moved his fingers to his mouth and tasted her. 

"You taste so delicious."

"Clay, inside, now." She moved her hands to his boxers and began to push them down. He moved and reached for his pants. He looked through his wallet and sighed. 

"I don't have a condom." 

"Do we really need one?" Emma asked and Clay looked at her like she had lost her mind. "I thought you were giving me the stereotypical teenage backseat sex?"

"Yeah, Emma but what about..."

"I'm on birth control. I started after we got together and I've never had sex before so no STD's plus I trust that you don't have anything."

"I don't."

"So, we are all good." Emma said as she pushed him back onto the seat, pulled his boxers off and climbed onto his lap, straddling him. 

"Are you sure you want to do this here? I mean, Emma it's your first time. It should be perfect."

"Clay, I love you and I want my first time to be you. No matter where it is, it'll be perfect." Emma said as she kissed him. He put his hands on her hips and began moving her center over his penis.

He reached down and positioned himself. He pulled her down lightly on his penis and she closed her eyes. Emma gripped his shoulders. He pulled her lips back up and then pulled them back down. He repeated the movement until he was completely inside her. He paused as he felt her squeeze him trying to get used to having something inside her. 

"Oh, god. You fill so big." Emma said as she kissed him. He moved his hands to her hair and deepened the kiss before moving his hands back to her hips. He began thrusting lightly inside her and she put her head down on his shoulder. As he sped his thrusts, she put her right hand on the back driver side window and her left on the back window. 

"Emma, you feel so good, baby. So tight." Clay groaned out as his thrusts got more rapid. A few moments later, they both came. Emma moaned as she felt his release inside her and Clay groaned as he felt her throb around him. They leaned against each other, breathing heavy as the song finished. Emma and Clay's lips met in a light kiss.

"Are you okay?" Clay asked making sure he had not been too rough with her. 

Emma let out a small laugh and said, "I'm the best I have been in a long time. Maybe we should get dressed and head to your apartment." Emma said as she slid off his lap. Clay nodded and they began to put their clothes on. They both slipped into the front of the cab and realized that it was still raining and the windows were fogged up. They both laughed and headed to his apartment. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trisha Yearwood's "Georgia Rain" is a great country song if you want to check it out.


	3. Underage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The title pretty much explains everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this chapter is very OOC.

Clay Spenser and his best friend, Brian Armstrong were sitting at a table in the bar every operator in Virginia Beach visits. That afternoon, Clay found out he was in the bottom five and just could not understand why. 

"I'm good. I should be at the top. Why the hell am I in the bottom five?" Clay asked as he took a swig of his beer. 

"Because you are arrogant and cocky. No one in Green Team likes you because of the way you act." Brian finally told him and Clay just stared at him. Before Clay could say anything else, Brain let out a sigh, "why don't you find a girl and blow off some steam? Hey, the college girl you were talking to the other night is here." 

Clay turned and saw the woman, Stella sitting at the bar, but something beyond her caught his eye. It was a young woman looking around the bar. She was wearing a pair of small, tight white shorts and a bright blue blouse. Clay looked at Brian and said, "actually, I found someone else who peaked my interest." Clay got up from the table and walked towards the woman. 

Stella looked up and saw him coming, thinking that he was walking to her. She was able to open her mouth and say something to him, but he bypassed her and walked to a tiny blonde. 

Clay walked over to the woman, who was still looking around the bar. "Is there something you need help with?" Clay asked and that made her look at him. 

"Actually, I just looking for someone."

"I'm Clay." Clay said introducing himself to her and sticking out his hand.

She hesitated for a moment then took his hand, "I'm Emma."

"Can I buy you a drink?" Clay asked as he tried to make a move on her.

"Actually, I don't drink. I was just looking for someone, but he's not here." Emma said as she turned to walk out the door. 

"Can I walk you out?" Clay asked and Emma looked at him. She hesitated and said, "I'm going to have to wait for a Uber."

"I can take you wherever you want."

"As nice as that is... I don't know you well enough to get into a car with you." 

"Well, my name is Clay. I live alone, I do not have a good relationship with my father and I'm single."

"What do you do?" Emma asked.

"I'm trying to become a special SEAL."

"A SEAL, huh?" Emma asked knowing that if he was a SEAL, he would make sure she would be safe if he took her home.

Clay smirked and thought, 'must be a frog-hog'. He nodded and Emma nodded as well. 

Before Emma could say anything else, she got two text messages, one from her mom and one from her dad. Her mom text, 'going out of town for the next couple days and I am taking Mikey with me. Love you'. Her dad text, 'going on a training exercise, won't be back for two or three days. Love you'. Emma reread the texts and then looked at Clay. "Why don't we go somewhere?" Emma asked.

Clay nodded and walked her out to door. They walked to his car and he opened the door for her to get in. He moved to the driver side door and get in. He drove them to his apartment building and they entered his apartment. He had boxes all over the place. 

"I see you just moved in." Emma said as she looked around. 

"Yeah, yeah. Um... would you like me to order in pizza?" Clay asked and Emma nodded. A few minutes later, Clay had ordered the pizza and he was sitting down on his couch with her beside him. Thirty minutes later, they were eating and talking to get to know each other. 

"Would you like help unpacking?" Emma asked as she finished. 

"I have a better idea." Clay said looking her in the eye. He leaned in and kissed her cautiously. She hesitantly kissed him back and put her right hand on his left cheek. He put his hands on her hips and kissed her more passionately. Emma relaxed more and kissed him, placing her arms around his neck. He ran his hands under her shirt at her waist. He pulled back and stood up, he held his hand out, she hesitated. 

"Clay, maybe we shouldn't."

"I want you, but only if you want me."

"I do want you, but there's something that you need to know..."

"There's nothing I need to know other than we both want each other." Clay said as he held his hand out to her once again. 

She looked at it and at him, then look it. He pulled her to her feet and kissed her once again. They kissed for a few minutes in the living room before he picked Emma up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her into his bedroom and laid her down on the bed. They looked at each other before Clay began pulling off his shirt. Emma took a deep breath and looked at his well defined muscular chest and stomach. He climbed on top of her and kissed her before pulling her up and taking off the shirt she was wearing. She was wearing a snow white, lace, see-through bra and Clay moaned before kissing her chest and sucking her nipple through the lace. Emma closed her eyes and moaned, as she leaned into his touch. He switched breasts and moved his hands to unbutton her shorts and slide them down her legs. Clay almost lost it when he saw the matching panties. He pulled back and grabbed her feet to take off her shoes. Emma ran her hands down his chest and stomach, then began unbuckling his belt buckle and unbutton his jeans. He got up from the bed and pushed his jeans down, revealing his tight black boxers that did nothing to conceal his bulging erection. He leaned over her once again and began undoing her bra. He pulled it away and groaned, "you are so beautiful." He told her before kissing, sucking, and biting at her breasts. He moved one of his hands into her panties and she began to squirm. They kissed and Clay used his thumb to work her clit. He pushed one finger inside her and was shocked by how tight she felt, Emma gasped. He began moving his finger in and out of her before adding a second finger to stretch her. He finished pulling her panties off completely and began kissing down her body. He reached her thighs and began sucking on them before reaching her center. Emma moaned loudly as he licked up and down her slit. He moved back up her body, reached into his nightstand to get a condom and then pulled his boxers off to roll it on. Emma looked at him and couldn't help but think, 'how is that going to fit inside me?'. He rolled on the condom and moved into position, he rubbed his length against her hole a couple times then began lightly thrusting inside. The first thrust sent him halfway inside her, making Emma bit her lip to keep from hissing. He pulled back and thrust inside her a little further than before. After a few more light thrusts, he pushed in all the way, making Emma moaned his name loudly. 

"Oh god you're so tight." Clay said as he began thrusting in and out. Emma felt like she was stretched and completely full. They moved together and kissed. He moved his hips in a different angle and hit her deeper making Emma gripped the bed sheets with both her hands. Emma began to feel like she was going to explode and Clay knew that because he began rubbing her clit. She exploded under him and screamed, "Clay". He didn't stop thrusting as he wanted to draw out her pleasure. As she came down from her high, he thrust roughly inside her one last time before coming. Emma felt him harden and throb inside her. He laid on top of her and began kissing her neck. 

"Oh god, that was amazing." Clay said as he rolled off of her and got up to go clean up. Emma laid in bed, trying to catch her breath. 

'What the hell were you thinking?' Emma thought as she sat up and wrapped the cover around her. 

Clay walked back out of the bathroom and looked at her, "you were a virgin?" 

Emma looked at him and asked, "how did you know?"

"There was blood on the condom. Why didn't you tell me? I wasn't too rough with you was I?" Clay asked as he walked over to the bed. 

"I tried to tell you remember. You said, 'there's nothing I need to know other than we both want each other'." Emma said looking directly at him and Clay nodded. 

"I guess I should have heard what you had to say. But, you are okay, aren't you?" 

"Yes, I'm fine. You seemed shocked that I hadn't had sex before, why?"

"Well at the bar, you asked if I was a SEAL, so I assumed that you..."

"That I what? Was a frog-hog?" Emma asked incredulously. "I asked if you were a SEAL because my dad's a SEAL and I knew that if I left with you I would be safe and you weren't some serial killer."

"Wait, your dad's a SEAL?"

"Yes."

"What team does he work on?"

"My dad's Bravo 1."

Clay's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "Jason Hayes is your father." 

"Yeah, why?"

Clay took a deep breath and said, "that's the team I want to get drafted too." 

"Wait, you want to be drafted to a DEVGRU Team? How old are you?" Emma asked beginning to panic.

"25, why?"

"Oh my god, when you said you were trying to become a SEAL, I thought you were like just getting into the military."

"No, I was a member of SEAL Team 3 for a few years, now I'm trying to become a DEVGRU SEAL." 

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god." Emma kept repeating as she put her head in her hands. 

"What is it?" Clay asked as he pulled on some boxers.

"Don't freak out because no one ever has to know."

"What?" Clay asked confused.

"I'm 17." Emma said as she waited for his reaction. 

"This just keep getting worse, not only were you a virgin and Jason Hayes' daughter. You aren't even legal." 

"Clay, no one ever has to know that this happened."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I understand the importance of knowing everything about a person's sexual partner. This is kind of a warning for people, so that they know the important things about their sexual partner; ie. if they are a virgin, what their last names are, and what age they are. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope I did not offend anyone.


	4. Waterfall

Clay and Emma went hiking in the hills on a beautiful sunny day. It was the first day Bravo had off in months and Emma was so excited to be spending it with Clay. They had officially began seeing each other two weeks ago, after her dad was injured and Clay stayed with her at the hospital. He had been so kind and caring to her as she waited for news about her father. When the doctor came out and told them that Jason was going to be just fine, Emma was so excited and relieved that she kissed Clay, who was shocked at first but as the shock wore off returned the kiss. Emma smiled as she thought back to that day. Clay looked at her and said, "what are you thinking about, baby?" Emma looked at her and blushed as she realized he caught her, "just how we got together." They shared a small kiss before continuing up the hill. 

They came to an opening and Emma gasped, it was the most beautiful waterfall she had ever seen. She looked at Clay, who was standing there just looking at her. "What?" Emma asked. 

"You look so beautiful." 

"Can we go in?" Emma asked as she sat her bag down. Clay smiled, "Yes we can." 

Emma took off her shirt and shorts, leaving her in her bikini. Clay just stood and looked at her. This was the first time he had actually seen her in anything like that. Whenever the team was over at her house and the kids were in the pool, she would be with RJ so that Naima could enjoy some adult time. Clay began to remove his clothes and left him in his swim trunks. They moved towards the water and allowed their bodies to adjust to the temperature. They began swimming around and splashing each other. Emma swam behind the waterfall and found a small cave, cut out, just big enough to hide them from the waters spray. Clay followed and pinned her against the wall of the cave. They looked into each others eyes and moved to close the gap between them. They kissed passionately and Emma wrapped her arms around his neck. He picked her up and wrapped her legs around his waist. 

"Emma, Emma, we need to stop before we go to far." Clay said as the kiss started to heat and hands started to roam. 

"I don't want you to stop." Emma said as she kissed him on the lips and then moved her kissed down his jaw to his throat. 

"Emma, this isn't right. This isn't how it should be." Clay said as he pulled away from her. 

"Your first time. This isn't how it should be." Clay said and Emma froze. She had not told him that, how did he know? 

"How..." 

"Jason talks about you all the time and how he, Ray, and Sonny would chase off anyone who tried to date you, so I just assumed... Am I wrong?" 

Emma shook her head no. "You're not wrong. But, I want you. It doesn't matter where, I want you." 

"Emma..." 

"No, Clay! I want you to be the first. This, right here, this is what every girl dreams of. A romantic spot, with the perfect man, is everything that we dream of. Please, I want you, Clay." Emma said and Clay moved towards her again. 

"Emma, I'm not the perfect guy." Clay said as he pulled her towards him. 

"Clay, as far as guys go. You are close to perfect. You're kind, gentle, caring, protective, strong, I could go on." 

"What about protection, I didn't bring any." 

"I've been on the pill since I was 16." 

"Okay. But, if you get uncomfortable, let me know and I will stop." Clay said and Emma nodded. He kissed her on her lips. As the kiss began to grow passionate, Clay removed her bikini top. She moved his lips down to her neck, then her shoulder, then her chest. He sucked her nipple into his mouth and bit down on the tip, Emma groaned and threw her head back. He released her right nipple and moved to do the same to her left. Emma moved her hands down Clay’s body and to his swim trunks. She pushed them down over his hips so that he erect penis was rubbing against her clothed center. She kissed his mouth and sucked on his tongue. Clay moved his right hand down to her center and began to rub over the cloth. He moved his fingers inside of the material, and pushed two of them into her center, Emma screamed in pleasure. “Oh Clay!” He worked his two fingers inside her while he rubbed her clit with his thumb. They were kissing wildly until Emma exploded around his fingers. He pulled them out of her and looked into her eyes. She bit her lip before she removed her swim suit pants. She moved towards him again and wrapped her legs around his waist. She felt him against her slit and closed her eyes. She knew that this would hurt, but she wanted Clay to take her. “Please.” She whispered and he thrust inside her. Breaking her hymen in one thrust as he entered her completely. Emma screamed again. It hurt so good. Emma rested her head on his shoulder. 

“I didn’t hurt you did I?” Clay asked, Emma shook her head. 

“It hurt for a second, but... you feel so good inside me. Like you were made for me.” She said and Clay groaned. He kissed her fiercely and began to thrust inside her. After 20 minutes, and two more orgasms for Emma Clay finished inside her. They were both breathing heavy. 

“Are you sore?” Clay asked as Emma hissed when he slid out of her. 

“A little. The only thing that’s ever been in me was a tampon and well, you are definitely bigger then a tampon.” Emma said as she blushed and Clay smirked. 

“How do you feel?” He asked as he searched for her swim suit. Thankfully it hadn’t floated away during their intimate embrace. She began putting them back on. 

“Like I lived out a dream.” She said at him and he smiled back. Loving the sparkle in her eye and bright white teeth. She was the most beautiful woman in the world to him.


	5. The Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma decides to take her relationship with Clay to the next level... at her father's wedding.

"I want you." Emma said as she drug Clay into a secluded room at The WaterTable. She locked the door and moved towards him. She began sliding his jacket off and kissing him. 

"Emma, Emma, baby, wait. We can't do this here." Clay tried to pry Emma off of him. 

"Why not?" She said as she kissed and bit at his neck. She began removing his tie and unbuttoning his shirt.

"Emma, we are at your dad's wedding. My boss, remember? If he finds me in here... in his daughter, he'll kill me." 

Emma finished unbuttoning his shirt and pushed it apart to see his abs. She kissed and nibbled her way down his chest. "Thank of it like this... the sooner you're in me, the least likely dad is to find us." 

"Emma, wait."

"No! I've waited long enough. I waited my entire life. I've waited five months since we started dating. I want you, Clay." She reached down to his belt and began unbuckling it. She unbuttoned his pants and unzipped them. 

"Emma..." Clay started but stopped when Emma pulled him out of his boxers and put him in her mouth. "Oh God!" He threw his head backwards. "Emma, stop." She pulled back and looked up at him. 

"You really want me to stop?" Emma asked, looking up at him with pouty lips and puppy-dog eyes. 

"No, Em, I don't want you to stop, but..." Emma got up at that point, and began unzipping her dress. It fell from her perfect body and revealed that the only thing she was wearing underneath was lace panties. Clay looked her up and down, then pounced. He grabbed her, picked her up, and laid her on the table behind him. He kissed her body with such passion. He left beard marks down her body and then he ripped her underwear from her body. 

"Clay, please." She spread her legs and motioned for him to come near her. He rubbed his length before he wrapped her legs around his shoulder. He bent down and entered her with his tongue. Emma moaned loudly and begged him to enter her. He pushed three fingers inside her while holding his hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming. He removed his fingers and pushed inside her without warning. "Oh, Clay!"

"So tight, baby. Are you okay?"

"I'm better than okay. Please move!"

"Let me know if I hurt you." He began thrusting in and out of her. He kissed her neck and threw her leg over his shoulder, so he could hit her deep. They moved together for 20 minutes before they exploded together. 

"I guess we should get back." Emma said as they were putting their clothes back on. 

"Yeah, they are probably looking for us." Clay said as he picked up her panties and put them in his pocket. 

"Hey, I love you." Emma said and kissed him lightly on the lips.

He returned the kiss and smiled, "I love you too."


	6. Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This takes place right after Swanny kills himself. The funeral was today and Clay decides to run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has everything. Hurt, angst, and romance. I hope everyone enjoys the chapter. 
> 
> WARNING: There is mention of suicide in this chapter!

Clay had given a very nice speech at the funeral, everyone could tell that he was trying to hold it together. Emma was sitting in the second row behind Bravo. Clay made eye-contact with her during the speech and they somehow had a conversation with their eyes. Clay was hurting, he was in pain, emotional pain. All Emma wanted to do was make it stop. As Clay finished his speech, Bravo walked up to the casket. They lifted it and began moving from the church. He was buried in the cemetery next door, Emma stood as close to Bravo (and Clay) as she could without disrupting the military services. 

As the burial concluded and everyone dispersed. Bravo and the rest of the SEALs that were at the funeral were walking to their cars, everyone was talking, except Clay. As they reached the vehicles and discussed what they would do next, Jason made an announcement. "Everyone meet at the Bulkhead!" 

"Daddy?" Emma asked while she was looking at Clay, who seemed to be deep in throat. 

"Yeah, baby girl." Jason turned his attention to her. 

"I'm going to ride with Clay to the bar. Is that okay?" 

Jason looked at her in confusion for a moment then noticed the look on her face, before turning to Spenser. He looked like a lost puppy and Jason nodded. "Yeah, Em, that's fine." Everyone moved to get into their respective vehicles, leaving just Emma and Clay standing there. 

"Do you want me to drive?" Emma asked, trying to get Clay's attention. Clay shook his head and looked at her.

"Uh, yeah, Emma that's fine." Clay handed her his truck keys and claimed into the passenger side. Emma climbed in, turned on the truck and began driving. Clay did not say a word to her the entire way to the bar, all he did was stare out the window and think. "We are here." She announced and climbed out of the truck. Clay followed and they entered the bar. Everyone was already there so Clay and Emma took a seat together at one of the empty tables near the bar. Sonny moved over to the table and sat a beer down for Clay, before sharing a look with Emma and walking off. Emma was about to say something to Clay when her dad got up to make a speech. She looked between her father and Clay throughout the speech, her dad was sentimental which is something that she does not get to see very often and Clay was hanging on his every word. Her dad mentioned the medals that each member of the SEALs in the room had. He said that there were three Silver stars between the men in the room and she noticed that her dad was a two time recipient of that medal. She looked at Clay's ribbon arrangement on his chest and noticed that he was the one with the third Silver Star. Her father finished the speech and everyone toasted to Brett Swan. She sat with Clay the entire evening. When everyone said their goodbye's, Emma walked over to Clay and hugged him. He was shocked for a few moments before returning the hug. 

_______________________________________________________________

Later on that evening, Emma and her dad were sitting in the living room. 

"Daddy, I'm worried about Clay."

"He'll be fine, Emma." 

"Daddy... you don't understand. Clay was hurt and he had to go through months of therapy. You guys couldn't be there but Swanny was. They made a connection. Swanny was like the father he had, daddy." Jason was taken aback by Emma's bluntness. "Can I... can I go over there? He needs someone and I know what it's like to lose a parent."

"Yeah, baby girl. Go ahead. He needs someone like you."

"I may not be home tonight. If it gets to late, can I stay?" Emma asked and Jason sighed. He nodded and Emma went to pack a bad, just in case. She got into her car and drove over to Clay's apartment, which in the last few months, had been Swanny's apartment as well. She did not notice Clay's truck in the parking lot, but she went up the apartment anyway. She knocked on the door and waited, there was no answer. She knocked once again, still nothing. Emma looked through her purse, her dad had given her a key ring with every member of Bravo's house/apartment keys on it for emergencies. She finally pulled it out and tried each key until one fit. She opened the apartment door and walked inside. She looked around and noticed that the apartment was empty. 'Where would Clay be?" She knew he had come home because his uniform was laying on his bed. She looked around the apartment and noticed an address on the coffee table. She took the piece of paper, locked up the apartment and went down to her car. She input the address into her navigation system. She drove out of Virginia Beach and into the mountains. It had started raining about 10 minutes after leaving Clay's apartment. Now it was pouring rain as Emma had to turn onto a long, dirt path. She hit her breaks about a quarter mile down the path because a tree had fallen. The navigation said that the address was half a mile down the path. Emma figured that she could walk the rest of the way and see if Clay was there. She got out of her car in the pouring rain, she took her keys and started walking. About 5 minutes later, she came up to a cabin. She sighed in relief as she noticed Clay's truck parked and the flicker of the fireplace through the window. 

She walked up the stepped and knocked on the door. Clay opened the door with a very confused look on his face. "Emma? What are you doing here? And why are you dripping wet?"

Emma moved passed him and into the warm cabin. "Dad... dad and I... we were... worried about you. I... I went to... your apartment... but you... weren't there... Found... the address for... here." She managed to get out even though she was freezing. 

"Doesn't explain why you are soaked to the bone." Clay said as he moved her towards the fireplace. 

"Tree down... in the road... walked half... a mile."

"In the rain?" Clay asked, Emma nodded. 

"I'm going to get you a towel to dry off with." Clay said as he left her at the fireplace. He returned a few moments later and stopped in his tracks. Emma had taken her shirt off and she was left only in a lacy bra that was stuck to her chest. Her entire upper body was wet and glistening in the light from the fire. "Uh... here." He handed her the towel and looked everywhere but at her. 

"Thanks." She took the towel from him and started drying off. "Do you... do you have anything I can put on?" Emma asked, remembering that she had left her overnight bag in her car. 

"Oh yeah." He left to get a sweater from his bag. He returned to find Emma in nothing but her bra and panties. She had taken her pants off while he was gone because they were getting too uncomfortable. 

"Thank you." Emma said as she took the sweater from him and sat it by the fireplace. Clay moved towards the kitchen to give her some privacy and get them something to drink. He happened to glance up and saw Emma standing with her back towards him. She unsnapped her bra and let it fall, Clay knew that he needed to look away, but she was beautiful. He watched as she dried off and slipped his sweater onto her body. It fell mid-thigh and he saw her bend slightly to take off her wet panties. 

'Oh my god! Jason Hayes' beautiful daughter was standing 30 feet away from me, wearing only my sweater!' He thought as he watched her for a few more moments before leaving the kitchen area. She rubbed her hands together and tried to get warm. 

"Here." Clay said, handing her a beer. 

"You know I'm only 19 right?" Emma asked, before she took the beer from him. 

"Yeah, but there isn't anything else to drink here." He simply said, before sitting down on the couch and staring into the fireplace. 

Emma looked at him, took a sip of beer and went to sit beside him. They sat like that for awhile until Clay suddenly asked, "why didn't you turn around?"

"What?" Emma asked, not sure what he meant. 

"When you saw that the tree was across the road. Why didn't you turn around? You walked half a mile in the pouring rain to some cabin that you had never been too. Through terrain you didn't know. You could have gotten hurt, or worse. Why didn't you turn around?"

Emma looked at him for a moment before sighing, "because I knew that you were here. And... you needed someone that you could talk too. Someone who wasn't your boss or one of your teammates. Someone who could relate to you. Someone who would sit back and listen to everything you told them and they would never say a word to anyone else. And that person is me."

"Emma, you don't know anything about me." 

"I know that you are brave, resilient, strong not just physically but mentally and emotionally. I know that you are kind and compassionate yet rough around the edges and a little jagged too. I know that you put your heart and your mind into everything that you do, even when you know you are going to be hurt. I know that... these passed few months have been the hardest of you life and you wonder everyday if you are as good as you were before. I know you want someone to understand and love you for who you are. I know that you want to feel something, anything, to make the pain you feel go away. And, most importantly, I know what its like to lose someone unexpectedly, without even a thought that it would happen." Emma finished, with tears in her eyes. Clay looked at her, thinking that she meant her mom. 

"When I was 12, I had a friend. Her name was Alyssa. She was quiet and she always tried to make everything perfect. She was shy and timid. She would let people run all over her, but she was nicest person in the world. She had a bad home life, her mother was a drug addict and she had overdosed and died. Her father was an unemployed, abusive alcoholic. One day, we were at school and she gave me this necklace," Emma said, motioning to the gold chain around her neck, "it was her grandmothers. It was the only valuable thing she owned. She said that I was the only one that cared about her in the world. When we left school that day I said 'I'll see you tomorrow'. And she just looked at me and smiled." Emma took a deep, shaky breath. "That night, she killed herself. And I spent so long wondering what I could have said or what I could have done to stop her. If there was some point in that day where I could have seen what she was thinking and told someone. But, you know what I've learned? There's nothing anyone could have done. It was too late, too much damage had been done. It's the same situation that you're in right now." She finished in a silent sob and tears running down her reddened cheeks. Clay looked at her with tears running down his face. 

"I should have seen it." Clay whispered, thinking back to his last conversation with Swanny. "I should have seen it." He began crying. Emma was crying too as they held each other for comfort. After a few minutes, they pulled apart. The storm was getting worse outside and the lap that was on beside them suddenly turned off. 

"Do you have any candles?" Emma asked, Clay nodded. He had found some candles in the hallway closet. They moved together to get them and they lit each of the candles so there would be light. "Who's cabin is this?" 

"Swanny's. He told me about it during my PT. This is the first time I've been here." They were both standing in front of the fireplace. "Does it ever get better? The hurt?" Clay asked, looking into Emma's eyes. 

Emma turned her head and realized how close they were. "Yeah it does, but it never goes away." She whispered and they both leaned into each other for comfort. 

Their lips touched lightly, hesitantly. One kiss turned into another, then another, until they were in each other's arms as hands and lips roamed. Emma worked to take off Clay's t-shirt and kissed a trail down his gorgeous body. She reached his sweatpants and looked at Clay. He seemed nervous, no one other than the nurses, doctors, and Swanny had seen his legs since the explosion. Emma kissed his lips lightly before moving to the scar on his shoulder from a bullet and then to the one of his side from a knife wound. She raised his arm and kissed a scar from Ash. She looked into his eyes and began untying the strings to his pants. She pushed them down his waist and got down on her knees, so that she was eye-level with his legs. There were a few small, slight scars on both legs from shrapnel and surgery. She kissed each of them lightly before standing back up and kissing his lips again. "You are perfect. Just the way you are, Clay Spenser." She whispered and he took her mouth in a deep, passionate kiss. They sank slowly to the floor as Emma ran her hands up and down his back and Clay ran his hands under the sweat shirt she was wearing. Clay's fingers came into contact with her soft, hot folds and Emma moaned against his lips. He ran his fingers gently up and down her slit before sinking one of them into her. She felt so tight, like she had never been entered before. Emma placed both hands on his face and kissed him soundly. 

"Oh, Clay!" She gasped out as he began moving the finger in and out of her while using his thumb to rub her clit. After a few thrusts, he added a second finger, making Emma lay her head against his shoulder and dig her nails into his back. They moved together for several minutes until Emma exploded on top of him. They kissed lightly as Clay maneuvered her under him. He pushed his sweatshirt up her body, exposing perfect skin. He kissed every piece of skin he could reach. Emma pushed his boxers off his hips and he settled between her legs. They kissed lightly as he entered her. Emma gasped and closed her eyes as she began to stretch to accommodate him. He paused to allow her time to adjust before pushing in further. After several more moments like this, he was completely inside her. Emma and Clay were staring at each other. This was what they both needed. Someone to complete them. Someone who understood them. Someone who would love the other unconditionally. Clay began to thrust lightly in and out her while Emma wrapped her legs around his waist and moved with him. They continued like this for half an hour, neither chasing a finish, just wanting to be connected and wanting to feel something. 

"Clay, please." Emma finally said as her orgasm was approaching. Clay was close as well and began to pick up pace. At once, they broke together. As they came down from their highs, each of them placed light kisses on the others mouths. 

"That was amazing." Clay whispered. 

"How do you feel?" Emma asked, as they continued to lay there, still connected. 

"Like I'm whole again. That's all thanks to you." He whispered and kissed her, before picking her up and carrying her into the bedroom, where they repeated their coupling over and over again that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope no one was offended by this story, it just popped in my head tonight as I was watching a movie.


	7. Fantasy to Reality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SMUT WARNING!!!!
> 
> The characters are OOC in this chapter! I hope you enjoy!

Clay was laying on his couch, surrounded by empty beer bottles and pizza boxes. Stella had broken up with him a few weeks ago because he was not ever there. She was afraid that he would leave and never come home and she was not strong enough to handle worrying about him. She could not handle being with a SEAL, this broke Clay. Stella was the first woman that he had let into his heart and she shattered it. He was in the middle of his thoughts when he heard a knock on his door. He groaned, he didn’t want anyone around him right now. 

“Blondie! Open the door!” Sonny said from the other side. Clay groaned again, knowing that Sonny was not going to go away until he opened the door. He got up from the couch, almost tripped over beer bottles and walked over to the door. He opened it to see Sonny and Lisa standing there. 

“What are you doing here?” Clay asked, in a small whisper. 

“We are going to get you out of your slump, baby blues.” Sonny said as he walked past Clay into the apartment. Lisa followed him and they both looked around at the unexpected disarray of the apartment. “Go take a shower and get dressed. We are going out.” Clay was going to protest, but the look on each of their faces caused him to change his mind. Clay walked into his bedroom, took his clothes off, got into the shower and washed. After 10 minutes, he walked out of his bedroom, completely dressed and saw that Sonny and Lisa had cleaned up the beer bottles and pizza boxes. “Let’s go.” Sonny said as he pushed Clay out of the apartment. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Sonny, Clay and Lisa walked into the bar and noticed that it wasn’t too full. Clay looked around and saw that Stella was there, at a table near the bar, with a group of women that he did not recognize. Sonny and Lisa followed his glance and saw Stella. 

“Come on, we are going over there.” Lisa said, pointing to an empty table all the way on the other side of the bar. Clay and Lisa sat down at the table while Sonny went to get them drinks. Once he returned to the table, Clay took his beer and drank half of it in one gulp. For over an hour, the three sat at the table, drinking beers that Sonny and Lisa went to the bar to get. Every so often, Clay would glance over to the table Stella was at. Every so often one of the women at the table would glance over at them, say something to Stella and then everyone would laugh. 

Clay was knocking them back hard when Sonny decided it was time to bring in the ringer. The only person on this planet that could sit down with any member of Bravo and get them to talk. Emma Hayes. 

“I’ll be back.” Sonny said and shared a look with Lisa. Sonny walked over to the bathrooms and made the call to Emma. Emma’s phone rang three times before he heard her beautiful voice. “Emmie! I need your help.” 

“Sure Uncle Sonny! What’s wrong?” Emma asked as she was moving around her room. She was trying to clean it up when she got the call from her favorite uncle. 

“Spenser is having a difficult time with Stella breaking up with him. We brought him out, me and Davis to the Bulkhead, but that hasn’t helped because Stella is here with a group of friends.”

“Okay? You want me to come talk to him?” Emma asked, not really understanding what he wanted. 

“Come on, Emma. I want you to work your magic. You can make any of us feel better no matter what slump we are in.” Sonny told the young girl and she started laughing. 

“Okay, Uncle Sonny. I’m going to change and I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Each of them ended the call. Sonny went back to the table and Emma began changing her clothes. Talking to Clay would be different than talking to each of her other Bravo family. Clay is closer in age and to be honest, she has been attracted to him since he joined Bravo. So, this was definitely going to be a different conversation. Emma walked over to her closet and removed a navy off the shoulder crop top and a navy/white short skirt. She slipped on the clothes, made sure that she had looked good and moved towards the stairs. She could hear her father in the kitchen and went to talk to him. 

“Daddy, Uncle Sonny called and said that he wanted me to ‘work my magic’ on Clay. Apparently Clay isn’t taking Stella dumping him well. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.” Emma said to him as he looked at her outfit. He sighed, knowing that if anyone could get Spenser out of his funk, it would be Emma. 

“Okay, if it gets too late, stay at Spenser’s apartment. I don’t want you driving.”

“Thanks, daddy. I’ll let you know.” Emma said as she turned and walked out of the kitchen, then the door. She climbed into her vehicle and drove to the bar. She got out, adjusted her skirt, and walked into the bar. She noticed that Lisa and Sonny were standing near the exit, staring at Clay, who was sitting at a table in the corner. 

“Hey, Uncle Sonny, Aunt Lisa.” 

“Hey, baby girl. You okay to handle Spenser yourself?” Sonny asked, looking at her. Emma nodded. 

“You guys go home, I’ll take care of Clay.” She said as she moved over towards him. She noticed that he was holding a beer in his hand and glancing over at a table full of women. She knew that the one with her back towards him was Stella and Emma got an idea. She walked over to him and slipped into his lap, grabbing his beer. “You know, sulking isn’t sexy, Petty Officer Spenser.” 

Clay looked shocked to see Emma Hayes sitting in his lap, taking a sip of the beer. He wasn’t sure where to place his hands but ended up wrapping an arm around her back and placing the other on her knee. “You do realize that you are underage, right?” Clay asked, looking into Emma's eyes and she shrugged. 

“What are you going to do, spank me?” Emma asked, jokingly and Clay smiled for the first time in weeks. 

“So, what are you doing here?” Clay asked as he noticed Stella’s friend looking back over at him and then Stella turning around in her seat. 

“Uncle Sonny said that you needed cheering up, so as the resident cheerleader of Bravo, I was tasked with cheering you up.” She said with a cheeky smile that was so infectious that Clay began to smile as well. “It looks like your ex isn’t happy about another woman on your lap.” 

“She broke up with me, so she doesn’t get a say on who is on my lap.” Clay said, shaking his head. 

“Well, why don’t you and I get out of here and go do something fun?” Emma said as she handed his beer back to him. He looked at her for a moment and leaned in to kiss her cheek. 

“Sure.”

“Okay, I’m going to the restroom then you and I can go to your apartment.” She got up from the table, glanced over at Stella’s table and then bent down. “Looks like none of the women at that table are happy.” She said against his ear, making it look like she was kissing his earlobe. She smiled and then moved towards the bathroom. He smiled and shook his head before picking up his beer. He was getting dirty looks from Stella’s table and saw Stella get up and walk towards the bathroom. The women at the table were glaring at him, so he got up and walked over to the table. 

“Is there a reason you’re staring at me?” He asked and one of the women scoffed.

“You are over there flaunting that little whore in front of Stella after breaking up with her.” One of her friends said and Clay laughed.

“Let’s get one thing straight… Stella broke up with me because she couldn’t handle my job. And the woman you are calling a whore, is actually a very good friend of mine.” He returned back to the table he was sitting at and finished off his beer as he waited for Emma. ‘She told her friends that I broke up with her? Unbelievable!’

____________________________________________________________________________

Emma walked into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. From the way the women were looking at her and Clay, she knew that Stella would confront her. And she was right, Stella walked into the bathroom moments later and came to stand beside Emma. 

“He’s bad news you know?” Stella said as she looked in the mirror. 

“Who? Clay?” Emma asked, playing dumb and waiting to see what Stella would say. 

“Yeah, I’d stay away if I were you.” Stella turned and looked at Emma.

Emma smiled, “I can take care of myself.”

“I dated him you know… he’s gone all the time. Never gives you the attention you need. He’s dangerous too. And he isn’t very good in the sack, if you know what I mean.” 

“Really? He's dangerous because he’s a SEAL?” Emma asked and she saw the shocked look on Stella's face.

“He told you that?” Stella asked, remembering that Clay didn’t tell her until weeks after they began dating. 

“Unlike you… I don’t need someone to show me attention every second of every day.” Emma said before moving towards the door. She reached the door but turned around and said, “by the way… he wasn’t bad in the sack last night or night before last or the night before that.” Emma lied and smirked at her before leaving the bathroom. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Emma walked over to Clay, took his hand, and led him out of the bar. She walked over to her car and got into the drivers side while Clay got into the passenger side. She drove to his apartment and pulled beside his truck. They moved towards the door, up the stairs, and walking into his apartment. Clay was suddenly glad that Lisa and Sonny had cleaned up while he was in the shower. 

“So, I met your ex in the bathroom.” Emma said as she took her heels off and sat down on the couch with her legs under her. Clay sighed and sat beside her on the couch. 

“She told her friends that I broke up with her.” Clay said before shaking his head. 

“She told me you were bad news and that you were dangerous.” Emma admitted, looking into Clay’s eyes. 

“I guess I know how to pick them, huh?” Clay couldn’t believe that Stella thought he was dangerous. He would never hurt anyone unless they were trying to hurt him or an innocent person. 

“You could have definitely done better… but I think she was jealous.” Emma said as she moved closer to him, trying to give him some form of comfort. 

“Jealous?” Clay asked, confused.

“Well, she didn’t seem happy to see me in your lap. And, if she wasn’t jealous she probably wouldn’t have followed me into the bathroom and told me some things.” 

“What things?”

“Things that aren’t true I would assume.” Emma said, rolling her eyes.

“Things like what?”

“Like you being bad in bed. Which I’m sure isn’t true.” Emma said, but then realized how that sounded and looked at Clay, who was staring at her with an amused grin. “Not that I’ve ever thought of you… you know… like that.” 

“Really? Like what?” Clay asked, amused and forgetting about the lies Stella told about him. 

“Clay…” Emma said as she blushed and Clay chuckled. 

“Come on, I’ve taken a huge blow to my ego.” Clay said and Emma looked at him momentarily. 

“You want the truth?” Emma suddenly asked.

“Yes.”

“You won’t make fun of me or tease me about it?” Emma wanted to make sure.

“I promise that I would never make fun of you or tease you.” 

“I’ve always thought that you were attractive. And, I would be lying if I said that I never… you know.”

“You’ve thought about having sex with me?” Clay asked.

“Yes.” Emma confessed, not looking at him. 

Clay grabbed her hand and pulled her onto his lap so he could force her to look at him. “When I first met you… I thought that you were gorgeous. The most beautiful woman that I have ever seen. Then I found out that you were Jason Hayes’ daughter and I tried to forget about my attraction for you. But, before I found out that you were Jason’s daughter, I can’t say that I didn’t think about taking you to bed.” Clay confessed and Emma smiled. 

“Well… I’ve thought about you in bed and you’ve thought about me in bed. Instead of a fantasy, why don’t we make it a reality?” Emma asked in a shy tone. 

“Are you sure?” Clay whispered and pulled her closer to him. She hesitated for a moment before kissing him lightly on the lips. He placed his hands on her waist while Emma placed her hands around his neck to deepen the kiss. He pulled back and looked into her lust filled eyes. “Are you sure?” Clay asked again. 

“Yes, I want you.” 

“Didn’t you get some bad reviews about my performance in bed?” Clay asked, jokingly now that he was finally over Stella. 

“Well… even if you are bad in bed, which I doubt, I don’t have anything to compare it to, so you don’t have anything to worry about.” Emma confessed the fact that she was a virgin to him. 

“You’ve never…”

“No, I… you’re the only one I’ve ever thought of… in that way.” She confessed and with a shy smile. 

“I’m glad.” He said, loving the thought that he would be the only one to ever be with her in that way. “But, I need you to be absolutely sure about this before anything happens.” 

Emma looked into his eyes before she pulled her crop top over her head and left her in her white, lacy bra. She got up from his lap and pulled her skirt down her legs, leaving her in matching panties. Clay ran his eyes over her body and got up from the couch. He put his hands on the back of her thighs and pulled her off the floor. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he carried her to the bedroom. He placed her lightly on the bed and she began pushing his shirt up and over his head. She ran her hands over his perfect chest and chiseled abs. She then reached for his pants and pushed them down his legs. She crawled backwards onto the bed and Clay followed her. He moved over her and kissed her on the lips before moving towards her neck, collarbone, chest, stomach, thighs, then moved back to her mouth. He pulled her up so he could take off her bra. He threw it off the bed and took her right breast into his mouth while he placed his right hand over her left breast. Emma closed her eyes and moaned his name as he switched breasts. After he moved his hands and mouth from her chest, he looked at her. 

“Are you okay?” He asked, making sure that she wasn’t uncomfortable. 

“Yes. Please, Clay.” She whispered and kissed him again. He kissed her for a few minutes before moving down her body. He moved towards her panties and stopped when he reached the hem of her panties. He looked into her eyes, asking for permission to take off her panties and pleasure her. Emma nodded and Clay proceeded to take off the flimsy bar of panties, leaving Emma naked under him. He pulled her legs over his shoulders and began running his tongue over her folds and clit. He sucked on her bud and then entered her with one of his fingers. Emma groaned as Clay entered her, she grabbed the sheets with both of her hands. After a few thrusts, he added a second finger, then a third until Emma came with a small groan. He pulled his mouth and fingers from her and moved back up the bed. 

“Are you still okay?” Clay asked and Emma nodded. 

“That was amazing!” She said as she opened her eyes to look at him. She looked at him and kissed his lips softly. Emma pushed him down on the bed and climbed on top of him. He could feel the wetness of her release on his stomach and groaned. She gasped as she felt Clay harden even more under her. She kissed down his neck and chest until she reached his boxers. She moved his boxers down to expose his hardened erection. She looked at him and saw that his eyes had darkened. She moved and licked his penis from base to tip then took it into her mouth. Clay closed his eyes and put his hands in her hair. She bobbed her head up and down, taking him as deep as she could before lifting up. She was sucking on the tip when Clay moved her away from him and back up his body. “Why did you stop me?” She asked, confused. 

Clay kissed her softly before rolling her under him. “Because I want to come when I’m inside you, not your mouth.” Emma smiled and kissed him again. They kissed each other passionately and ran their hands over each other's bodies. Clay pulled back and reached for a condom in his bedside table. He pulled out a square foil package and looked at Emma. Before he could ask once again if she was sure, Emma took the condom from him and tore the package open. She handed it to him and he rolled the condom on before positioning himself at her entrance. He kissed her as he slid inside her. Emma grabbed his shoulders as he began stretching her. They continued to kiss and Clay bottomed out inside her. 

“Oh Clay!” She gasped as she tried to get used to his girth inside her. 

“You okay?” Clay asked, wanting to make sure he hadn’t hurt her. Emma nodded and wrapped her legs around his waist, then moving slightly forcing Clay to begin thrusting. He entered her, then pulled out before thrusting inside her again. Emma closed her eyes as she felt another orgasm coming on. He thrust deeply inside her over and over again until they came together. They laid together, still connected, trying to catch their breaths. After a few moments, Clay pulled out of her and laid down beside Emma. Once Clay caught his breath, he got up from the bed and moved towards the bathroom to take care of the condom. Emma laid in bed thinking about what was going to happen next. Clay returned from the bathroom and walked over to her. 

“Do you… do you regret this?” Emma asked, not making eye contact.

“What? Of course not. Do you?” Clay asked.

“No, I just… wanted to make sure.” Clay kissed her as they settled into a comfortable silence. Emma was about to say something when they heard Clay’s phone go off in the living room. He moved from her to get it and a minute later, he came back into the room. “Who is it? Do you have a spin up?” Emma asked and Clay nodded.

“It’s Stella. She wants to come over and talk about getting back together.” 

“Oh.” Emma said, thinking that Clay was considering it. “Do you want me to leave so you two can work it out?” 

“No!” Clay said immediately before moving back towards the bed. He sat down and pulled her into his arms. “I told her that I found someone that understood me better than I understand myself and that I am happy with you.” Emma smiled and kissed him. He pulled away and put his phone on the bedside table. 

They began kissing each other intensely and Emma climbed on top of Clay. Clay was beginning to get hard again as Emma was rubbing against his groin. She broke the kiss and grabbed a condom out of the bedside table. 

“Are you sure you aren’t sore?” Clay asked.

“Just a little tender, but nothing that would stop me from wanting to make love to you again.” She said and kissed him again. He rolled on the condom and Emma climbed onto him and began sinking down onto his penis. She gasped as he entered her completely. They began moving together and after minutes of love making, they came together. They laid beside each other for several minutes trying to regain their strength and breath. 

“What are we going to tell Jason?” Clay asked after they cooled down. They just looked at each other.


	8. Cage Room

Emma walked into DEVGRU on a Friday Afternoon to drop off some clothes for her father. He texted her to bring some clothes to their cage room because Bravo would be leaving from their last spin up the next morning. The Ensign at the front gate let her in without an issue because he was used to seeing Master Chief Hayes’ daughter come and go out of the doors. She walked down the hall with her pass and nodded to the people walking by her. Everyone knew her so it was not unusual to see her. She used her pass to swipe into Bravo’s cage room. She was shocked when she saw Clay Spenser standing near his open cage wearing only a towel. 

“Um, hi. What are you doing here? I thought you would be with Bravo?” Emma asked as she moved into the door and closed it. Clay turned around in his cage and looked at her. She could tell that his body was full of tension. 

“They took the new guy with them.” Clay answered and turned back to what he was doing. 

“So, um, dad told me that you were hurt a few months ago. I’m glad to see that you are doing good.” Emma said as she looked at his back. Clay paused and turned around to look at her. He saw in her eyes that she was sincere. 

“Thanks.” 

“I wanted to come visit you, but dad said that I should not get in your way while you were rehabbing.” Emma told him as she looked around. 

“I wish you had. It would have been nice to see a friendly face.” Clay said and he noticed that she looked down as if she felt guilty for not visiting him. “I’m sorry, I’m just upset and I’m taking it out on you. I wasn’t very good company then and I would have pushed you away.” 

“May I ask why you’re upset?” Emma asked, not wanting to upset him further. 

Clay looked at her and sighed. “Jason and Ray decided to draft someone I don’t think should have been drafted to Bravo.” 

Emma nodded, “I guess I can understand that. But you have to think that Uncle Sonny didn’t believe you were good enough to be on Bravo in the beginning. Now, look at you, dad is planning to hand Bravo over to you when he retires. Maybe the new guy will grow on you?” Emma said, trying to stay positive. 

“Maybe you’re right… but when I got drafted Jason and Ray didn’t take my word over Sonny’s without checking first.” Clay said, remembering the almost blow out he and Vic had about a plan and Jason and Ray taking Vic’s side. 

“I’m sorry. I wish there was something I could do.” Emma said, smiling at him. The two of them stared at each other for a few moments before Emma realized that Clay was still standing in front of her in a towel. “You probably want to change so I should be going.” Emma said as she made her way towards the exit. 

“Emma… do you think we could talk?” Clay asked and Emma froze. She turned and looked at him before nodding and walking over to the table and jumping up on it to sit. Clay moved towards her and said, “while I was recovering, I had this friend who helped me through…”

“Swanny?” Emma asked and Clay looked up at her in shock before remembering that Swanny was on Bravo when Emma was younger and she knew him. 

“Yeah, Swanny. He helped me recover and then he…”

“Committed suicide.” Emma finished for him when he couldn’t bring himself to. 

“We got so close that when he died it felt like I had lost my father.” Clay whispered and looked down, trying to keep his composure. Emma grabbed his shoulders and pulled him close to her. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around his waist and leaned his head against her chest. She pulled back and placed her hands on his cheeks. 

“It’s okay to feel like that about him. He took care of you while you were injured.”

“His death was so unexpected…” Clay started and looked at Emma, “does it ever get any better?” Clay whispered and tears pooled in his eyes. 

Emma looked at him with tears in her eyes as well. She knew he was referring to her mother's unexpected death. “You are never going to forget it, but the pain lessens everyday.” 

Clay nodded and looked at her. Emma moved her head towards his and their lips met in a sweet kiss. Her hands went to his neck and she deepened the kiss. Clay pulled her closer to the edge of the table and she wrapped her legs around his toweled waist. Clay ran his hands up and down her body. He moved his lips to her neck and rushed her skirt up so that he could remove her panties. He hooked his fingers around the flimsy material of the panties and pulled them down her legs and off her body. His mouth moved back to hers while Emma’s hands went to his waist and removed the towel, leaving Clay naked in front of her. Clay positioned himself at her entrance and thrust all the way inside her. Emma threw her head back and put her hand over her mouth to keep her shriek concealed. She laid down on the table and he began lightly thrusting in and out of her. He picked her up from the table and packed her into Jason’s closed cage door. His hands held the back of her thighs as he thrust hard into her. She closed her eyes as he kissed down her neck and to her shoulder. Emma came but Clay didn’t stop his movements. He moved her away from Jason’s cage and moved back towards the table, where he climbed onto the table with her and practically pounded into her. Emma grabbed the sides of the table when she reached her second orgasm. Clay thrust deep one last time before releasing inside her. As they came down from their high, they both realized what had just happened. Clay thought about how he just had sex with his bosses daughter, against his bosses cage door. Emma thought about the fact that she just had sex for the first time with one of her dad’s men, a very attractive man, but still one of her dad’s men. They looked at each other and Clay climbed off of her. He moved her off the table and walked over to his cage to get a pair of boxers, trying to form words. 

“Emma, I’m sorry…”

“Clay, please don’t apologize.” Emma started but Clay stopped her.

“I feel like I took advantage of you.”

“But you didn’t… I actually enjoyed myself.” Emma said, blushing and she couldn’t meet his gaze. 

“Me too.” Clay whispered. “But this shouldn’t have happened.” 

“You’re right.” Emma agreed. 

“I want it to happen again.” Clay told her and took her hand in his, pulling her towards him to kiss her. She responded to his kiss immediately and they broke apart only to catch their breaths. 

“I want that too.”


	9. Lake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm including the lyrics to a beautiful song that best describes Clay and Emma's relationship during this chapter.

It was the afternoon of Ray and Naima’s renewal of vows. Emma was running around the lake house trying to get everything ready. Her mother Alana, Mandy and Lisa were trying to help Naima do something with her dress and the kids. She was wearing a beautiful blue dress that was tight and reached her knees. She was looking at the flower arrangement when she felt someone behind her. She turned around and saw Clay Spenser standing there in a black suit and a royal blue tie that matched her dress. 

“Hey, Clay.” Emma said before returning to what she was doing and he looked around. 

“Hey, Emma.” Clay responded in a quiet manner. She stopped and turned around to look at him. 

“Everything okay?” Emma asked, instantly concerned about Clay, who was usually so talkative and happy.

“Sure, why?” 

“You just seem… not yourself, I guess.” 

“Stella broke up with me.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry Clay. Would you like to talk about it?” Emma knew that Clay had been dating this woman for a while, as long as he had been on Bravo at least, and he thought that he was in love with her. Clay had only been on the team for a few months. 

“No, no, I don’t want to ruin anyone’s day.” 

“Clay, if you need someone to talk too, I’m here.” Emma told him and he smiled before rubbing her back as a thank you. She blushed slightly because his warm hand was on her bare back. They looked at each other for a moment before her mother called for her. “I’ll see you later.”

“See you later.” Clay said as he moved out of the house. 

________________________________________________________

Three hours later, the vowel renewal was over and everyone was at the reception. They were dancing and singing and having a great time. Emma was sitting at the table and watching everyone. Her dad was dancing with Mandy while her mom was dancing with Blackburn. Ray and Naima were dancing together. Sonny and Lisa were dancing together. Brock and Trent were dancing with their significant others. Emma looked around and she didn’t see Clay. 

She noticed that there was a small walkway leading down to a wooded area near the lake. She moved towards the walkway and walked to the lake, she saw Clay sitting on a bench. She looked around and noticed that this area was completely isolated. 

“Clay?” Emma asked, not wanting to sneak up on a Navy SEAL. 

Clay turned and looked at her, “Hey, what’s up? It’s not time for the speeches is it?”

“No, I noticed that you weren’t at the reception. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, Stella texted me. She is getting her stuff from the apartment.”

“I’m sorry. I know how you felt about her.” Emma said, walking up to the bench.

“Thanks, you want to sit?” Clay asked, motioning to the empty seat beside him. She sat down and turned to look at him. 

“You want to talk now? You and Stella seemed happy at my 18th birthday party, what happened?” Emma asked.

Clay looked into her beautiful face and sighed, “she broke up with me during our deployment. Or… she wanted to take a break and then talk about our relationship after I got home.”

“She broke up with you while you were in a warzone?” Emma asked, completely shocked. Clay nodded and looked at her, he thought that he could actually see steam coming from her ears and her face turn red from anger. “What the hell was she thinking?”

“She can’t handle being with someone in the military. She told me that I would be the perfect boyfriend, husband, if I wasn’t a SEAL.”

“But you wouldn’t be you if you weren’t a SEAL.” Emma said, looking at him. 

“Maybe I’m not worthy of someone…” Clay started but Emma stopped him by grabbing his hands. 

“You are worthy of having someone who loves you just as much as you love them. Because if it's real love, it won’t matter what you do or how long you're gone. The only thing that would matter is you and her. You deserve to have someone who will stand by you and love you and comfort you.” Emma told him in a stern voice.

Clay looked at her and pulled her hands to his lips and kissed them. “Thanks for that.”

“It’s true. You deserve to have someone that will stand by you no matter what.” Emma said, smiling at him. She stood up and pulled him with her, “you want to go dance?”

As she pulled him up, his body collided with hers. He swallowed and leaned towards her. Their lips met lightly and they hesitated for a moment before responding to each other. Emma wrapped her arms around his waist and Clay held her face and neck. Their kiss deepened and they backed up to the bench again. Clay sat down with Emma on his lap, their lips did not leave each other's mouths. Hands began to roam, Clay ran his hands over her sides, hips, and legs. His hands went under her dress and pulled her closer. Clay’s lips moved from hers to her neck and Emma’s eyes closed. Her hands went to his waist and began undoing his belt and pants. 

“Wait, are you sure?” Clay asked, looking at her lust filled eyes.

“Yes, I want you.” Emma said as she began to unzip him. 

Clay moved under her dress and pulled down her panties. After her panties were off, he placed them on the bench beside them and she pulled his hardened length out of his boxers. Their lips met again as he entered her. 

“Oh my god!” Emma gasped and closed her eyes. He felt so good inside her, she had never had anything inside her before, it felt foreign but amazing. 

“Oh, Emma!” Clay groaned as he felt her tight, wet sheath. “Are you okay?” He whispered and she nodded before moving on top of him. He held her hips as they moved together. Emma laid her hands on his shoulder and grabbed his jacket. They moved together until they met their releases together. Both of them were panting by the end. After they caught their breaths, they shared a light kiss. 

They broke apart. Emma climbed off of him and pulled her panties back on. Clay fixed himself before standing and looking at her. She looked nervous for a moment before opening her mouth to say something. Clay cut her off with a kiss. 

“That was amazing.” He whispered and Emma blushed. 

“Are you ready to go back to the party?” Emma asked and Clay nodded.

“As long as we get to dance together.” 

Emma smiled and led him back to the reception. No one seemed to notice that they were missing. They stood on the edge of the dance floor and began to slow dance, just like everyone else in their family. Tracy Byrd’s song “Keeper of the Stars” began to play and they smiled, knowing it was the perfect song for them. 

‘It was no accident me finding you  
Someone had a hand in it  
Long before we ever knew  
Now I just can't believe you're in my life  
Heaven's smilin' down on me  
As I look at you tonight’

“So, are we going to talk about what happened?” Emma asked, wanting to know where they stood. 

“We can. You want to do it right now?” Clay asked, looking around at the members of Bravo, wanting to make sure they were not within listening distance. 

“Now is as good a time as any.” Emma told him and moved closer so she could whisper to him without the others hearing. 

‘I tip my hat to the keeper of the stars  
He sure knew what he was doin'  
When he joined these two hearts  
I hold everything  
When I hold you in my arms  
I've got all I'll ever need  
Thanks to the keeper of the stars’

“Do you want this to be a one time thing?” Emma asked, not making eye contact. 

Clay sighed, “honestly, no. When we were talking earlier you said something that made sense.”

“Like what?”

“I need someone who will be there for me no matter the circumstances. I need someone who understands what I do and we will love me the way I am. Do you think that can be you?” Clay said, placing his heart on his sleeve. 

Emma looked into his eyes and smiled. “Of course it could be me.” 

‘Soft moonlight on your face oh how you shine  
It takes my breath away  
Just to look into your eyes  
I know I don't deserve a treasure like you  
There really are no words  
To show my gratitude’

“So… what happens next?” Clay asked as they moved together. 

“A date?” Emma questioned and he smiled. 

“I’d like that.” 

“This song is right you know.” Clay said as she laid her head on his shoulder.

“About what?”

“Finding you was no accident.” Clay said and they both smiled thinking about their future together. 

‘I tip my hat to the keeper of the stars  
He sure knew what he was doin'  
When he joined these two hearts  
I hold everything  
When I hold you in my arms  
I've got all I'll ever need  
Thanks to the keeper of the stars’


	10. Bar

Emma had turned 21 two weeks ago and her friends were dragging her to a nightclub in New York to celebrate. She had gone home to see her family on her birthday and they had not gotten the chance to celebrate. Emma was reluctant to go, but she decided that having some fun in the city would be better than sitting in her apartment, alone. 

They entered the club and immediately went to the only empty table in the room. They were standing there talking when one of her friends noticed a guy at the bar. 

“Oh my god!” Her friend, Brittney, said making all the girls turn their attention to her. 

“What?” Emma asked.

“There is the sexiest man I have ever seen drinking at the bar.” Brittney informed them and everyone but Emma looked over. 

“Sexiest man? Come on, you say that about everyone.” Emma said, shaking her head.

“No, Em, she is serious. No one on earth looks as good as him.” Her friend, Tiffany said.

“I can think of one person who would look better.” Emma said, thinking about her dad’s rookie, Clay. She had the biggest crush on him during his first year on Bravo. He was the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes on and no one she had met since him had ever looked as good. 

“Come on, Emma. Just look. He’s wearing a buttoned-up shirt, jeans and a baseball cap.” Her friend, Angela, said and Emma sighed looking over at where they were staring. 

She paused for a moment and said, “oh my god. It’s him!” 

“Him who?” The girls asked at the same time. 

“I know him, excuse me.” Emma told them as she moved towards the man. “Clay?” She asked and he turned towards her. 

“Emma!” He said, surprised to see his Master Chief’s daughter standing in front of him. 

“What are you doing here?” Emma asked, as Clay pulled her into a hug. 

“Well… I went to DC to visit my girlfriend… ex-girlfriend now… and I just started driving. Ended up here. What about you?” 

“Some of my friends brought me out to celebrate my 21st birthday. I was in Virginia Beach and we couldn’t celebrate.” Clay nodded his head in understanding. 

“You probably want to get back to them, huh?” Clay asked, not really wanting her to go but knowing that she should hang out with her friends. He had a bad night and seeing someone familiar, comforted him. Emma looked at him, noticing his sad expression and then back at her friends, who were cheering her on. 

“I don’t think they mind.” She informed him and sat down on the stool next to him. 

“Can I buy you a drink?” Clay asked.

“Sure.”

“What do you like?”

“Long Island?”

Clay ordered her a Long Island and himself another beer. They sat there for over an hour talking about everything yet nothing at the same time. 

“You want to get out of here?” Emma asked, noticing that there was something he wanted to talk about but this nightclub was not the place.

“Sure.” He said, downing the last of his beer and his sixth shot of the night. 

“Let me tell my friends.” Emma said as she walked over to the three women she came with that night. They had been watching Emma and the mystery man the entire night. “I’m going home. See y’all tomorrow.” Emma told them before walking back over to Clay and exiting the club. Clay had parking about a block away from the club so they walked to his car. Emma grabbed the keys from him, she had only had one drink tonight while he had 5 beers and six shots. They drove for about 10 minutes before pulling into an apartment complex. Emma drove the car into a spot that was registered to her apartment number. They got out and walked into the building. 

Emma opened the door to let Clay in, he looked at his surroundings. “Nice place.”

“Thanks, you can sit anywhere. I’m going to go change.” Emma told him as she moved towards her bedroom. Clay looked around the apartment, it was not that different from his own. He saw pictures on the wall near the television. He smiled, there were pictures of her with Bravo as a whole and them individually. She has a picture of her and her mom. She has a picture of her, Jason, Alana, and Mikey. She has a picture of her and Sonny from when she was a little girl and right before she left for college. She has a picture of her and Ray as well as her, Ray, Naima, Jameelah and RJ. She has a picture of her and Brock and her, Brock, and Cerberus. She has a picture of her and Trent. Two that caught his eye was a picture of her and him at Davis’ farwell BBQ and a picture of them right before her prom where he had kissed her on the cheek and Naima captured it photographically. Her and Hannah had gone to the prom together and Bravo was there to give support because her mother and Hannah’s father had died only months before. 

She came back out of her bedroom and noticed that he was looking at the pictures on her wall. He noticed that she was standing there and turned to see her. 

“Nice pictures.”

“Thanks.” 

“Don’t guys look at that picture and have questions?” He said pointing at the picture of him kissing her cheek. 

“No guys, other than friends come to my apartment.” Emma told him and they sat down together. She pulled her phone out and showed him her screen saver, “But, I do have that picture on my phone and tell guys I’m not interested in that you’re my boyfriend.” Emma gave him a cheeky smile and he blushed slightly. 

“I’m flattered.” Clay said, smirking at her. She laughed. 

“So, you mentioned an ex-girlfriend. Dad said that you were dating someone pretty heavily.” Emma said as she settled beside him. 

Clay took a deep breath, “I was, but I found out something that just…”

“What?” Emma asked.

“Her name is Rebecca. She is an aid to the American Ambassadors. We were dating and she was telling me that I needed to do something to further my career. She convinced me that STA-21 would be best for me and for a while I thought about it. But, I realized that Bravo and being an active SEAL was more important than being an officer. So I told her that and she seemed like she was okay with it… While I was there today, I found out that my dad had convinced her to push me along in my career.” 

“He didn’t? And she went along with it?” Emma asked, shocked that Ash would mess with his son's future. 

“Yeah.”

“Oh Clay, I’m so sorry.” Emma said and laid her hand on his shoulder to comfort him. He looked at her and leaned forward. Their lips met briefly before pulling back to look in each other's eyes. 

“I want you.” Clay said to her as he kissed her more aggressively. Emma hesitates knowing that he was most likely drunk. 

“Clay, Clay, we shouldn’t…” Emma said as he moved his lips down to her neck. 

“Why? Don’t you want to?” Clay asked, pulling back. 

“Yes, I do. But, you are way too intoxicated to do this. Tomorrow morning, you are going to regret it.” Emma told him, trying to get him to understand why she wanted to stop. 

“I won’t regret it.” Clay told her and began kissing her again. She relented and began kissing him back. They moved from the couch into her bedroom. She could taste the alcohol on his tongue and smell it on his breath. He began to take off her night clothes and took his off, just as eagerly. Once their clothes were removed, Clay pushed her onto the bed. She crawled back to the middle of the bed and Clay followed. He began kissing down her body. 

“You are so perfect.” Clay said as he made his way down her naked body. 

Emma laid under him blushing. His lips moved from her left breast to her right. He began rubbing his hands up and down her body. He sucked on her right nipple until she orgasmed. While she was coming down for the orgasm, he moved to her left nipple and sucked until she orgasmed for a second time. He moved back to her mouth and kissed her before pulling back. 

“How many?”

“How many what?” Emma was able to get out. 

“How many orgasms do you want?” 

Emma just kind of looked at him for a moment. “That depends…”

“On what?”

“On how many you are able to give?” 

Clay grinned at her response and moved back down her body until he reached her thighs. He kissed both of her thighs intensively and then moved to her vagina. He sucked on her clit and Emma gasped, then closed her eyes. 

“Oh my god!” Emma moaned loudly, she had never felt like this before. She grabbed the bedsheets, trying to control something because she couldn’t control her body at this moment. 

Clay continued to suck as he pushed one finger into her tight center. “Oh, Clay, please!” Emma practically sobbed. Clay added another finger, then another until she was rounding her third orgasm in less than an hour. Clay lightly bit on her clit and she came against his mouth and hand. He pulled his fingers from her body and then moved so that he was covering her. He rubbed his large length against her entrance and Emma whimpered. His lips met hers and he entered her slowly, wanting to drag out both of their pleasures. Emma grabbed his shoulders as she adjusted to having him inside her. He began thrusting in and out of her. 

“Oh, baby, you feel so good around me.” Clay moaned into her ear. Emma closed her eyes and wrapped her legs around his waist. 

He began thrusting in and out of her at a rapid pace. 

“I’m gonna.” Clay said and Emma groaned as he came inside her, sparking her fourth orgasm. He pulled out of her and kissed her shoulder before rolling her over onto her stomach and entering her from behind. Emma shrieked as he entered her, hitting her deeper than she ever thought possible. 

“Ah!” Emma practically screamed. 

“Are you okay?” Clay asked, not wanting to hurt her. 

“Oh god, yes! Please, don’t stop!” Emma practically begged. He began thrusting deeper and harder inside her until she had her fifth orgasm and he came inside her again. They laid together, panting, before Clay pulled out of her and rolled onto his back. Emma flipped over so she was laying on his chest. 

“You good, Em?” Clay asked, wanting to make sure he hadn’t hurt her or made her feel uncomfortable. 

“Mmmm, yeah. What about you?” Emma asked, looking into his restful face. 

“So much better than earlier.” Clay told her, smiling at her before leaning down and capturing her lips. 

“I’m glad.” Emma said and she noticed that he was still hard. She smiled at him and slid down his body. She kissed his chest, abs, before reaching his length. She looked at him and saw that his eyes were closed and she slipped her mouth onto his length. Clay groaned as she sucked the tip of his penis and slid down as far as she could. She bobbed her head up and down for a few minutes until he came inside her mouth. 

“Emma, that was amazing.” He said as he pulled her back up his body and kissed her. 

“Let’s get some sleep.” 

________________________________________________________

The next morning, Clay woke up with his head hurting and body aching. He didn’t recognize his surroundings and then he remembered going to DC and finding out that Rebecca was in cahoots with his father. He remembered ending up in New York at a nightclub and talking to Emma, but he didn’t remember anything after that. ‘I must have gone home with someone’. He thought and heard someone breathing beside him. He turned slowly and was shocked. Emma Hayes was laying beside him in the bed, obviously naked. He sat up and tried to remember what happened. He lifted the covers to see that he was also naked. ‘Oh my god! I have sex with Emma Hayes!’ Clay took several deep breaths to calm himself. He laid back down on his back and tried to remember the night before, but he drew a blank. Emma made a noise and rolled over to face him. 

“Hi.” Emma said, looking at him nervously.

“Hi, how are you?” Clay asked.

“I’m good. How are you?” Emma asked, noticing that he was stressing out.

“Good, um, what happened last night?” Clay asked, wanting to be sure they had sex.

Emma looked at him and her heart dropped, ‘he doesn’t remember?’ “You don’t remember?” 

“Not really, but I assume that we slept together.” Clay said, trying not to hurt her feelings. 

“Yeah, but… I wasn’t a big deal. You were upset and we just… you know.” Emma said, trying not to look or sound disappointed that he didn’t remember one of the greatest nights of her life. 

“Right, um, I guess I should get back to Virginia Beach. Thank you for listening to me last night and everything else.” Clay said and Emma nodded. After that, Clay moved to get his clothes, they said their goodbyes and Clay left. After Clay walked out the door, Emma walked into the bathroom, climbed into the shower and began to cry. 

________________________________________________________

It had been two weeks since the night Clay and Emma spent together. Emma had been basically a robot since the morning after. She didn’t go out with her friends, she just stayed at home and thought about that night. ‘How could he not remember? Was I not good enough? How am I ever going to be able to face him, again?’

Back in Virginia Beach, Clay was standing in the cage room thinking about Emma. Over the last two weeks, he had begun to remember their night together. Last night, he had a very vivid dream about the two of them. When he woke up, he knew that it wasn’t a dream, but a memory. He remembered the morning after and the look on Emma’s face. ‘She probably hates me.’ He was lost in thought whenever Ray walked into the room. 

“What’s up, brother?” Ray asked, noticing that Clay was in deep thought.

Clay took a deep breath and said, “I really messed up and I don’t know how to fix it.”

“Need some advance? What happened?”

“I had drunk sex with a friend of mine. And she… she’s perfect for me. She’s the woman of my dreams. But I didn’t remember having sex with her the morning after… and she did remember. And over the past couple weeks, I’ve been remembering it. But, I don’t think that she will ever forgive me for not remembering our night together.” 

“Wow, what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. What would you do?” 

“Do you really care about her?” Ray asked.

“Yes, I… I think I’m in love with her.” Clay admitted, honestly. 

“I would go to her, talk to her, and let her know how I felt. I would apologize and show her how much I love her.” 

“You’re right. I’m going to do that right now.” Clay said as he closed his cage door and walked out to the parking lot. He got into his car and drove to New York City. It took Clay 6 hours and 30 minutes to drive. Once he was there, he walked up to her door and knocked on it. 

Emma had been sulking on her couch when she heard a knock on the door. Emma groaned and walked over to open it. As she opened the door, she saw Clay on the other side. Before she could ask what he was doing there, he moved to her and kissed her passionately. Emma was shocked but she kissed him back. Clay deepened the kiss and shut the door behind him. 

They broke apart and Emma looked at him. “What are you doing here?”

“I came here to tell you that I remember. I remember making love to you. I remember us kissing on the couch and us moving to your bedroom. I remember us sleeping together, I remember everything.” Clay whispered to her as he kissed her again. Emma pulled away. 

“Really, you remember now but you didn’t remember the next morning?” Emma asked, not really believing him. 

“Yeah, that was being drunk does to you, Em.”

“Why did you come here, Clay?” 

“I came here to tell you that… I love you. I came here to tell you that I want to be with you. I came here to beg you to forgive me for not remembering our night together. I’m sorry.” Clay practically begged her to believe him.

“You don’t know what you not remembering has done to me…”

“Tell me, I want to know so I know how much I have to grovel to get you to forgive me.”

“That was the first time I ever slept with anyone and having you not remember... “ Emma started but she stopped before she started crying. 

“So… I have a lot of groveling to do?” Clay asked the rhetorical question. He moved them over to the couch and got down on his knees. He grabbed both her hands and looked into her tear filled eyes. “Tell me what you are thinking?”

“I thought that you didn’t enjoy it…”

“But I did, Em. You were amazing, it was the best sex I have ever had. You are the only thing that has been on my mind these past two weeks. You are the only woman I want to sleep with for the rest of my life. Only you.” 

They stared at each other momentarily. Emma could see that he was completely sincere. She leaned towards him and kissed his lips. 

“Does that mean we can be together?” Clay asked, looking hopeful.

Emma smiled and nodded. “Yes, of course we can.” Emma kissed him again and they moved towards her room.


	11. Promise Ring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is something I wanted to write for a long time but I just haven't had the inspiration. I hope you enjoy!

Clay and Emma had been together for about 6 weeks, they got together in November 2017 and today was Emma’s 18th birthday. Clay had been racking his brain for weeks about what to get her, even before they became a couple. He and Stella broke up the week after he got home from his first deployment with Bravo. She couldn’t handle his occupation. She was also jealous, more jealous than he was about Gordon. Emma came over to his apartment the night after they broke up because Jason was worried about him. They sat down on the couch and ordered takeout. Clay drank a few beers, Emma drank some soda and they talked. It was the best conversation Clay had ever had. It was like Emma understood him, sometimes better than he understood himself. In the weeks after Clay had returned, he and Emma began talking more and more. They decided to go out at one point and then decided to become a couple. They were taking their relationship low, she was a teenager, an inexperienced teenager, and he was seven years older than her. 

While he was away, Ray and Jason had been talking about the kids and Jason mentioned that he and Alana were going to throw a party for Emma’s 18th birthday. After that, Clay couldn’t get the thought of a gift for her out of his mind. 

FLASHBACK

The second night after he got home, he was on his computer looking up jewelry. He was looking at an anchor necklace from Tiffany’s when Stella sat down beside him. 

“Oh, is that for me? I’d prefer the infinity pendant.”

“Actually it’s for Emma Hayes.” Clay said, looking on the website again, deciding against the necklace.

“Emma Hayes?” Stella asked, looking at him in suspicion., 

“Yeah, Jason’s daughter. Her 18th birthday is coming up and I’m looking for a present for her.” He began to search bracelets for her. 

“You're getting your team leaders’ daughter a piece of jewelry. Why? I’m your girlfriend and you haven’t even bought me jewelry.” Stella stated and looked at him like he had lost his mind. 

“It’s just something for my boss's daughter.” Clay told her, trying to calm her down.

“Is she attractive?” Stella asked, looking for his reaction.

“What kind of question is that?” Clay asked, he had never really thought about it because she was his boss’s daughter and so much younger than him.

“A simple one. What does she look like? Do you find her attractive?” Stella asked.

Clay sighed, “I’ve noticed that she is attractive in a passive sense. She’s petite with blonde hair and blue eyes. But, no I don’t find her attractive because one, I’m dating you, two, she is my boss’s daughter, and three, she’s seven years younger than me.” 

“Okay.” 

END FLASHBACK

After that, Stella and him argued all the time and eventually broke up. A couple weeks after that, Clay and Emma got together. As they talked to each other, Clay realized that the fact that he was seven years older didn’t matter. Jason didn’t seem to mind them dating, so that fact that he is his boss, didn’t matter. 

Up until a week before her birthday, Clay was still trying to figure out what to get her. Then, he thought about his future with Emma and it finally clicked. He left his apartment and drove to the local mall before going into the Zales. 

BEFORE EMMA’s BIRTHDAY PARTY

Clay entered his girlfriends home and noticed that she was in the kitchen. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She giggled and turned in his arms. She kissed him lightly before pulling away.

“Happy Birthday baby.” He whispered and kissed her again. 

“Thank you.” She smiled and kissed him again. 

“I also got you a present.” Clay told him and Emma smiled again.

“You know you didn’t have to do that. Just the fact that you are here means so much to me.” 

“I wanted to, but I need to give it to you in private.” 

“Really?” Emma asked, with her eyebrows up near her hairline. “Well, we are alone right now. Dad and the boys will not be home for another couple hours. They said that they had something to get for the party.

“Let’s go to your bedroom.” Both of them moved towards her bedroom. She locked the door and they sat down on her bed. 

“This is for you.” Clay said, handing her a black ring box. Emma looked at him in surprise. “It’s not what you think.” She opened it up and gasped. It was a 1ct Princess-Cut Diamond Framed ring. 

“Clay?”

“It’s a promise ring.”

“Why?” Emma asked, looking from the ring to him. 

“Well, according to research, a promise ring signifies a promise to take the relationship seriously. It also symbolizes hope for the relationship's future development. It means that this is the first step to a commitment within a relationship. It means that I will be faithful to you and that I will come home to you. And I’ve been racking my brain for months about what to get you, but this felt right.” Emma had tears running down her face. “If you don’t want it…”

“I do… I just, when you said that you had a present I didn’t expect it.” Emma put the ring on her left ring finger. She kissed him and fell back on the bed with Clay on top of her. They began kissing hot and heavy. Clay ran his hands up and down her body while she began tugging his shirt up his body. He pulled it off his body and she began kissing his neck, then his chest. 

“Em, we should stop.” 

“I don’t want you to stop.” Emma said and kissed him again. Clay pushed the dress she was wearing up her body and over her head. She was left in a pair of green panties and matching bra. Emma pushed his pants down his legs and onto the floor. They laid together in only their underwear for a moment looking at each other. After twenty minutes of foreplay, they removed the rest of their clothing. Clay placed himself between her legs and his penis at her entrance. 

“Are you sure?” Clay asked before he entered her. He wanted to make sure that she was ready.

“Yes, I want you.” He pushed inside her slowly. As he began to enter her, Emma began to tense. 

“Just relax.” Clay whispered to her and kissed his lips. Emma fell into his kiss enough to not notice the pain of losing her virginity. After a few thrusts, he was completely inside her. He pulled away from her lips and looked into her eyes. “Are you okay?” Clay asked and Emma nodded. She had never felt anything like this. She felt completely full and so much love for Clay. 

They moved together until they reached their peaks together. They laid, still connected, for a few moments as they cooled. Clay finally moved off her. They laid together for a few minutes then decided to put their clothes back on. Jason and the rest of the boys would be home at any time. They moved back down the stairs and into the kitchen, thankfully no one had come home during their lovemaking. 

Just minutes after Jason and the rest of Bravo came into the room. 

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” They all shouted and Emma laughed. 

“Thank you! What’s all this?” Emma asked because she saw everyone with bags in their hands. 

“It’s your favorite food, your favorite cake, and birthday presents!” Ray and Sonny exclaimed and began sitting everything down on the table. Emma moved over and looked in the bags, before she could get into the bags her dad interrupted her.

“Emma… what’s that?” Jason asked in a calm voice.

“What’s what?” She asked, not looking up from the bags. 

“What's on your finger?” Everyone at that point looked at Emma’s ring finger and noticed a diamond on her left hand. 

“Clay gave it to me for my birthday.” Emma said, showing it to everyone. There was a moment of silence before all hell broke loose. Jason, Ray, Sonny, Trent, and Brock began practically yelling at Clay until Emma stood between them and said, “SHUT UP!”

Everyone quieted and Emma began to speak again. “Clay gave me a promise ring, not an engagement ring.”

“So, he didn’t ask you to marry him?” Jason asked, wanting to make sure.

“No, he didn’t ask me to marry him. Can we get back to my party?” Everyone nodded and the night ended without further incident.


	12. Our Future/Prom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a long chapter! I hope you enjoy.

Clay rolled over in bed and wrapped his arms around his wife… HIS WIFE… he still couldn’t believe that he was married to the most beautiful woman in the world. He opened his eyes and saw her beautiful face covered with her long, curly blonde hair. Her eyes were closed concealing her gorgeous blue eyes, the ones that he fell in love with you years ago. He moved his hand to her swollen stomach and rubbed. In just two months they were going to have a beautiful baby. They had decided not to find out what the gender was, he so hoped that the baby would look like her. He hoped that the baby would be a girl and be exactly like her mother. Fierce, feisty, hardworking, strong, overprotective, compassionate, caring, loving, independent, etc. He moved down the bed to kiss her stomach. She made a noise and opened her eyes to look at him. 

“Good Morning, Master Chief Spenser.” She said, smiling down at him as he caressed her swollen belly. 

“Good Morning, Mrs. Emma Hayes Spenser.” Clay replied and slid back up the bed to kiss her.

________________________________________________________

Clay woke up with a gasp. ‘Where did that come from?’ He had just had a dream about his boss’s daughter, Jason Hayes’ daughter and him… in a relationship… in bed. Sure, he thought that Emma was attractive, but he only noticed in a passive way. He had never really thought about how her blue eyes sparkled when she laughed or joked around. He never noticed how her face lit up when she saw her dad and the rest of Bravo. He never noticed how her voice sounded like the angels when she was singing. He never noticed how her clothes molded to her perfect curves... Okay, so maybe he did notice how attractive she was in more than a passive sense. But he would never act on it. She was Jason Hayes’ daughter for crying out loud. Jason would kill him if he even thought he was attracted to Emma. She was also more than 7 years older than him and a teenager. 

He shook his head and climbed out of bed. It was 0530 and he had to be on base by 0700. 

He pulled into the parking lot at 0645 and climbed out of his truck. He looked around and saw Emma Hayes standing by her father’s truck. She did not look happy. Jason had mentioned that Emma was not a morning person, so she was probably upset that she had to get up early. He smiled, it was one of the things that he loved about her… wait! Loved! No, Clay shook his head, he did not love Emma Hayes, he couldn’t love Emma Hayes. He walked by them and into the DEVGRU building. Maybe he could get a good workout in and forget all about Emma. 

Clay had been hitting the weights hard for the past hour and a half. He decided that he had enough and went into the locker room. He was in the shower when he heard Jason come into the cage room. He was talking to someone, he couldn’t tell who it was but he knew that it was a female. He assumed that it was Mandy and Lisa. Clay finished his shower, grabbed a towel, toweled off and then wrapped the towel around his waist. He walked out and was shocked to see Emma Hayes standing there with her father. 

“Daddy, I really want to go!” Emma said, crossing her arms.

“Emma, I am not letting you go to a party that is going to last all night.” Jason said in his definitive voice. The one he got when he was making decisions for the team. 

“Dad, it’s the prom!” 

“It doesn’t matter. Spenser what do you think?” Jason asked as he noticed Clay, who was trying to be invisible. 

“I probably shouldn’t get into this boss.”

“Clay, you weren’t alive when dinosaurs roamed the earth,” Emma said as she gave her dad a side eye. Jason did not look amused by her joke, but she continued, “will you tell dad that the prom is very important.”

“I actually never went to prom.” Clay told her, trying to keep his composure. The joke about the dinosaurs and the look on Jason’s face almost made him laugh.

“Really?” Emma asked, looking at him in shock. A good looking man like him not going to his prom. Then she got an idea. “What if Clay took me to the prom!” Emma said, looking between her dad and Clay. 

“What?” Both of them asked in surprise. 

“It’s perfect. Clay never got the prom experience and you’re worried about my safety.” Emma said, trying to convince her dad. 

“Emma, I’m sure Clay doesn’t want to go to some high school thing.”

“Actually, if that’s the only way Emma can go, then I don’t mind.” Clay said and Emma’s eyes began to sparkle and she smiled. Clay thought that there was no way she could be more beautiful that she was right now. 

“But you won’t get home until late and your brother has school the next day.” Jason said.

“Then I’ll just stay at Clay’s that night. This is if you don’t mind.” Emma said, looking at him with a hopeful expression. 

Clay vowed to himself that he would always do whatever it took to make her smile the way she was smiling a few moments ago. “Yeah, it’s perfectly fine. As long as Jason is okay with it.” Clay said, looking over at Jason, who huffed.

“Fine.”

“Thank you, daddy!” Emma said as she hugged him. She moved over to Clay and threw her arms around him, not paying attention to the fact that he was standing only in a towel. 

When is this prom?” Clay asked as he inhaled her shampoo. 

“Next Thursday from 2200 to 0200. I’m wearing a royal blue dress.”

“I can’t wait.”

“I can’t either. I’ve got to tell Hannah, Cathy, and Bailey. Every girl there is going to be so jealous.” She hugged him again, kissed her dad on the cheek then moved out of the cage room, practically skipping. Jason rolled his eyes and went back to his cage. Clay smiled and blushed slightly. 

________________________________________________________

Clay and Emma were sitting beside the pool at their home. He had his arms around her with his hands laying on her round stomach. She was due any day now. Clay and the boys had gotten back the day before from a mission. An arms dealer and human trafficker had connection to a new terrorist organization and Bravo was sent to eliminate him. When they entered the compound, Bravo found a room full of young girls between the ages of 14 and 17. They had been raped and beaten. This almost broke Clay, he thought about his wife and his future child. 

Clay was lost in thought when Emma moved to face him. 

“What are you thinking about?” She asked.

“I really hope this baby’s a boy.” Clay said, suddenly. 

“Why? I thought you wanted a girl?” Emma said, not really sure where her husband was going with this. 

“I do. I want you just like you. But… I don’t know if I can be a father to a little girl. They need so much more protection than a boy.” Emma chuckled at his ridiculous comment. “It’s not funny, Emma. Girls need compassion and want to have tea parties and stuffed animals and go out with boys. The thought of someone doing to my baby girl what I do to you… it makes me want to kill someone. And there are only so many places I can hide a body before people start to notice.” Emma was fully laughing now. Clay began talking to her belly. “Please be a boy! Daddy needs you to be a boy!” 

_______________________________________________________

Clay woke up with a start. This was the 10th night in a row that he woke up after having a dream about Emma. ‘What is wrong with me!’ Clay said to himself. Having dreams about him and Emma was inappropriate. He looked at the clock and noticed that it was only 0230. He laid back down and tried to go back to sleep. 

He walked into the cage room at 0655 and saw that Ray and Sonny were standing in their cages.

“Morning boys.” He said, moving to his own cage. 

“Morning, blondie. Jay said that you were taking Emma to her prom. What’s up with that?” Sonny asked, looking at his brother. 

“Jason wasn’t going to let her go because it doesn’t end until 2 in the morning. I didn’t want her to miss something as important as the prom, so I offered. Well, she asked if I would take her because I never got to go to my prom. You know, cause I lived overseas with my grandparents.” 

“You make sure you take care of our baby.” Ray said, looking at him sternly.

“I promise, nothing or no one is going to hurt her.” 

________________________________________________________

Clay was laying on top of Emma. He was running his hands over her body when she stopped him. 

“What is it, baby? Clay asked, wondering why she had him stop.

Emma bit her lip. “This is the first time since I had the baby…” She trailed off and Clay laid there, trying to understand what she was talking about.

“Right, but Jason has AJ tonight. So it’s not like we have to be quiet.” 

“It’s not about being quiet.... I’m worried that you won’t find me attractive. I don’t have my pre-baby body back yet…” Emma said and Clay stopped her with his lips.

“Baby, you are perfect. I love you, I love your body. You gave birth to my child. There is nothing sexier than that to me.” Clay told her as resumed his kisses. He moved down her body and removed her clothes. He looked at her and she bit her lip. “Absolutely perfect, Emma Hayes Spenser.”

_______________________________________________________

Clay sat up panting and hard in his pants. Great, his dreams about Emma has moved from thinking about them together to thinking about them having sex. Clay moved towards the bathroom to take care of his problem. 

At 1900, Clay pulled up at the Hayes’ house. He wanted to take Emma out to dinner before the prom. He climbed out of his truck and had a corsage in his right hand. He had settled on a black suit with a white shirt and royal blue tie. The tie brought out his eyes and he knew that the royal blue dress would definitely bring out Emma’s. He moved towards the door and knocked. Jason came to the door moments later and let him in. 

“You look good, Spenser.”

“Thanks, boss. Is Emma ready? I wanted to take her to eat before the prom.”

“She should be down in just a minute. I have the camera for pictures, if that’s okay with you.” 

“Sure boss, it’s just…” Clay began to say but stopped when he saw Emma come down the stairs. She was wearing a royal blue trumpet/mermaid off-the-shoulder sleeveless satin sweep/brush train dress that showed just a hint of cleavage with a split up her left leg that reached her upper thigh. “Wow.” Clay breathed out, finally able to breathe. 

“Emma, you look amazing.” Jason said as Emma walked over to Clay.

“Thank you, daddy. You look nice too, Clay.” She said and all he could do was stare at her.

“Emma, there are no words to describe how beautiful you look.” Clay finally got out after several deep breaths. “This is for you.” Clay said as he slipped the corsage on her left wrist. Jason snapped some pictures. 

“You have your overnight bag?” Jason asked, wanting to make sure that his daughter had everything she needed.

“Yeah, let me grab it.” She moved back upstairs quickly then came back down with a black overnight bag. Clay took it from her and they walked to his truck. 

Clay pulled them into the parking lot of one of the fanciest, most expensive and most romantic restaurants in Virginia Beach. Emma looked over at him in shock and Clay smiled. 

“I wanted to make your prom night a night that you will remember forever.” 

“Oh Clay.” Emma said as she batted away tears. She leaned across the seat and kissed his cheek. “Thank you so much.” He smiled at her and got out of the car, Emma moved to open the door but Clay stopped her.

“Don’t move.” He said to her and she looked at him as he rounded the truck and opened the door for her. She smiled as he offered her his hand to take so she could get out of the truck. She took his hand and they moved towards the restaurant, still holding hands. They entered the building and the matradee greeted them at the door. 

“Hello, reservation for two for Clay Spenser.”

“Ah, yes, Mr. Spenser. You asked for a patio table?”

“Yes, if there is one available.”

“Of course, Mr. Spenser. Please follow me.” They moved beyond her as she led them to the patio. Emma looked out and could see the sun setting over the water. 

“Oh, Clay this is so beautiful.” Emma said to him and he smiled just staring at her.

“Yeah, it sure is.” He said, not taking his eyes off her. ‘God that was such a cliche.’ Clay thought and he was glad that Emma didn’t see that he wasn’t looking at the sunset, but at her. 

They spent the next hour at the table. They had finished their meal and they were currently having a conversation. 

“So, what is the theme to this prom?” Clay asked and Emma chuckled.

“It’s kind of a cliche, but it’s Our Future.” 

“Interesting.” Clay looked at his watch and saw that it was almost time for the prom, so he called for the waiter, paid, and placed his hand on the small of Emma’s back to lead her to the truck. He opened the door for her to slide in, then he walked around to climb into the driver’s seat. 

He pulled into the parking lot of the high school and once again opened the door for her. He offered her his arm and began walking towards the entrance. They entered the foyer and everyone looked at them. Emma began blushing and she moved them over to her friends. 

“Clay, you know Hannah Seaver, Cathay Porter, and Bailey Fuller.” Emma introduced them and they exchanged pleasantries. 

“Would you like to dance, Em?” Clay asked and she nodded. Clay pulled her onto the dance floor and wrapped his arms around her waist. She places her arms around his neck and they begin dancing to Kane Brown’s song ‘Heaven’. They dance to the song with everyone around them watching their movements. 

‘Everybody's talkin' 'bout heaven like they just can't wait to go  
They're sayin' how it's gonna be so good, so beautiful  
Lyin' next to you, in this bed with you, I ain't convinced  
'Cause, I don't know how, I don't know how heaven, heaven  
Could be better than this, mm  
I swear you're an angel  
Sent to this world  
What did I do right  
To deserve you, girl?  
I could stay here forever  
I'd be fine if we never  
Had to even leave this room  
Everybody's talkin' 'bout heaven like they just can't wait to go  
They're sayin' how it's gonna be so good, so beautiful  
Lyin' next to you, in this bed with you, I ain't convinced  
'Cause, I don't know how, I don't know how heaven, heaven’

“Do you want to sit down?” Clay asked, noticing the audience they had. Emma shook her head.

“No, let’s keep dancing.” 

With that Clay pulled her closer and another song began to play. Emma chuckled as she listened to the lyrics.

“What?” Clay asked.

“Just listen.”

‘There's a rumor going 'round about me and you  
Stirring up our little town the last week or two  
So tell me why we even trying to deny this feeling  
I feel it, don't you feel it too?  
There's a rumor going 'round, and 'round, and 'round  
What d'you say we make it true?  
We make it true  
Oh, we make it true, yeah  
Well, I can shut 'em down, tell 'em all they're crazy  
I can do whatever you want me to do, baby  
Or you could lay one on me right now  
We could really give 'em something to talk about’

“Seems kind of fitting.” Clay said as he recognized the Lee Brice song. They continued to dance until Emma said that her feet were hurting. Clay moved her over to a table with her friends and they stayed there until 0030 when Emma decided she was ready to go. 

“You sure?” Clay asked and Emma nodded. 

“I really want to get out of these shoes.” They both chuckled and said goodbye to her friends before leaving the school. They climbed into Clay’s truck and drove back to his apartment. Clay grabbed her bag and led her into his apartment. Emma plopped down on his couch with a huge sigh. Clay moved over to the couch and grabbed her feet, taking off her sparkling silver strappy heels one by one and rubbing her feet. 

She moved her left leg and laid it on his thigh, Clay noticed that her dress fell revealing her toned thigh. 

“Did you have fun?” Clay asked, wanting to make sure that she really had a good time. 

“Yes, Clay, I loved it so much. Thank you.”

“No, problem.”

“You know, everyone was jealous.”

“Jealous? Of what?” Clay asked, looking at her.

“Jealous of you!”

“Why, because I had the most beautiful girl as my date?” 

“No! Because I had the sexiest date!” Emma exclaimed, exasperated and Clay chuckled.

“Oh come on.”

“Clay, have you seen yourself? You’re hot! You’re like Captain America… but real… and better looking.” 

“You really think so.” Emma nodded her head emphatically. “So, was this the prom you always wanted?”

“Almost. I mean the corsage and the opening of doors and the fancy restaurant, and the dancing was amazing. But there is one thing that we can’t do that I have always dreamed out on my prom night.”

“Really, what’s that?”

“A goodnight kiss.” Emma said, blushing. Clay looked at her for a moment, then moved his hand to her neck. He pulled her closer to him and lightly kissed her lips. After a few seconds, he pulled back. 

“How was that for a goodnight kiss?” Clay asked and Emma blushed.

“It was amazing.” She whispered. 

“Why don’t you go get changed for bed and I’ll move some stuff to the couch so I can sleep.” Clay led her into his bedroom and she noticed that he had a huge king size bed.

“Wait… why don’t we just share? I would feel horrible if I kicked you out of your own bed.” Emma said and Clay hesitated. He didn’t know if he would be able to hold back after weeks of dreaming about her. 

“Uh. Sure. You brought something to sleep in?” Clay asked.

“Yes, I did. But I usually sleep in one of dad’s shirts so my leggings will probably be uncomfortable.”

“You want one of my t-shirts?” Clay asked, not wanting Emma to be uncomfortable.

“If you don’t mind.”

“Of course not.” He moved over to his dresser and got one of his Bravo 6 t-shirts for her. She grabbed it and their hands touched. They stared at each other for a moment before leaning in for a kiss. Their lips met and Emma pushed his jacket off his arms and onto the floor. Emma took his tie off next while Clay began unzipping her dress. It fell onto the floor and soon after, his shirt followed. Clay picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Soon, they were laying there in just bra, panties, and boxers. 

Clay kissed down her neck before looking into her face. “Are you sure?” Clay whispered.

“Yeah, I’ve thought about this for weeks.” She admitted and Clay said, “So have I.”

“Really?” Yeah, I’ve thought about a future with her, us.”

“Me too.” Their lips met again and before too long, they were completely naked. 

Clay pushed inside her and Emma grabbed the bed sheets beside her and bit her lip. 

“Oh my god!” Emma moaned loudly and closed her eyes. 

“You okay?” 

“I’m perfect. Please move.” Emma said and Clay began thrusting. They moved together for over an hour, neither of them wanting to reach their release and just wanting to be with each other. They reached their orgasms together and Clay rolled so that Emma was laying on top of him. They were still connected as they cooled and calmed down. 

“Wow.” Emma said and kissed Clay’s chest.

“You okay?”

“I’m completely fine.”

“You sure?” 

“Yes, Clay, I’m so happy that it was you.” Emma said and Clay knew that she was talking about her first time. 

“Me too. Let’s get some sleep.” They both closed their eyes and drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The two song lyrics used in this chapter were from Lee Brice song "Rumor" and Kane Brown song "Heaven".


	13. Recital

Clay was standing inside his cage, wearing only a pair of pants. He was thinking about everything that had happened in the past year. He had been blown up, had to do rehab, almost couldn’t go back to operating, Swanny died, and he went back to Bravo, Jason’s surgery, the Ambassador dying, him meeting a new woman, who he had a date with that night. He was deep in thought when he heard the cage room door open. He turned to see Emma Hayes standing there is a short pair of jeans, wedged heels, and a see through teal top. 

“Hey Captain America!” Emma said with a chipper tone and a bright smile as she moved into the cage room.

“Captain America? Really?” Clay asked with one eyebrow raised.

“What don’t like it? You could always be Thor.” She said as she moved closer to his cage.

“I think I’ll stick with Captain America.” Clay retorted and Emma laughed. 

“Have you seen my dad today?” She asked as she looked around the room.

“Yeah, he, Ray and Sonny went on a training mission. They should be back in the next day or two.” He explained and good see the smile on her face fade.

“Oh…” 

“What?” He asked, worried that something was wrong.

“It’s just… dad was supposed to drive to New York with me for my recital tonight. A phone call or a text saying he couldn’t make it would have been nice.” She said, holding up her phone. She gave him a sad smile and he returned it. “But, this has happened my entire life… so it’s not a big deal. I’ll be seeing you.” Emma said as she moved towards the door.

Clay could tell the sadness in her voice. He knew that she wanted someone with her at the recital. He knew that since her mom died, she didn’t always have someone there with her on special occasions because of the job. All she wanted was for someone to watch her on her big day… It reminded him of his childhood with Ash. Of course, Jason was nothing like his father. Jason was loving. “Wait!”

Emma stopped at the door. She was trying to hold in her tears until she got to her car. “Yeah.” She said, not turning around.

“I want to go to your recital.” Clay told her as he moved behind her. 

She sniffed and whispered, “really?”

“Yeah, Jason and the rest of the team always talk about how amazing your voice is. I’d really like to hear it.” He told her and she swung around to wrap her arms around his shoulders. She just held him for a few moments and he felt tears against his skin. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. 

“Thank you.” She finally said as she moved away from him. He didn’t say anything about the tears, he just moved back to his cage, got dressed, grabbed his overnight bag and walked out of the cage room with Emma. They walked to Emma’s SUV, climbed in and began their trip to NYC. 

At 1850, Clay was seated in the first row in front of a large stage. He had dropped Emma off about an hour before and went to a flower shop to get Emma some flowers. He settled on blue and white callalilies. He sat down in the seat that was meant for Jason and waited patiently for the program to start. He looked at the program and saw that Emma was not only opening the recital, but also closing it with a group of other women doing a tribute to the Women of Country Music. 

At 1900, the lights deemed and Emma walked out onto the stage in a sparkling grey dress that reached the top of her thigh and 6 inch black high heels. Clay almost couldn’t breath, she looked so beautiful on that stage. He shook his head, he could not be thinking of her like that. He pulled out his phone and hit record. She began singing “How Great Thou Art” and he almost fell from his chair. It was like the angels were singing to him. She was beautiful and she commanded the stage. As the end of the song neared, she hit notes that he didn’t even know existed and was amazed at the breath control she had. Everyone was standing by the time she reached the end of the song and when she finished they cheered as if she had scored the winning basket for the NBA Finals. She smiled out into the audience and then over at Clay, who was still recording. She moved off the stage and into the back to wait until the end of the recital. 

At 2000, she walked back onto the stage, wearing a sparkling black dress that reached the top of her thigh and 6 inch sparkling black high heels. She began the medley with Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man”. She was joined on stage by five women who sang Patsy Cline’s “Walking After Midnight”. All six of the women sang Loretta Lynn’s “Coal Miner’s Daughter”, Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5”, the five other women sang “Rockin’ With the Rhythm of the Rain”. Emma then led them in the chorus of Trisha Yearwood’s “She’s in Love With the Boy”. Clay’s jaw almost dropped when she looked at him through the song and then he was mesmerized when she led the other five women into Martina’s McBrides “Independence Day”. The other five women sang Faith Hill’s “Wild One”, then Emma led them to the end with Reba McEntires’s “Why Haven’t I Heard From You” and Shania Twain’s “Man I Feel Like a Woman”. The crowd once again got to their feet and Clay was so happy that he had decided to record this as well. The team will be so upset they missed it. 

The recital was concluded and Clay moved backstage to find Emma. He turned the corner and saw Emma and the five other women from the stage standing near the mirrors. The five women were giggling and Emma was packing her stuff.

“Did you see the hunk in the first row?” One of the women, a brunette, asked and the other four giggled.

“Yes! I’ve never seen him before but I would love to see him again.” One of the other women, a blonde, said and they all began laughing. 

The brunette turned to Emma and asked, “So, Emma. No family here again?” 

Emma looked at her and said, “actually the hunk you were talking about was here to see me.” She said.

“Really? Your brother? Why haven’t we seen him before?” 

“No, not by brother.” Emma said.

“Boyfriend?” The blonde asked, intrigued that a quiet girl like Emma would have a hot boyfriend like that.

“Well, actually…”

“Why haven’t we seen him before?” The brunette asked with her hands on her hips.

“He’s in the military and he’s gone a lot and he isn’t…” Emma tried but she was cut off. 

“I didn’t know you had it in you, Hayes.” Another girl, a redhead, said to Emma.

“Had what in me?” Emma asked, confused.

“Oh come on… he’s obviously older than you so sex has the be the only reason he’s with you. I mean, you're cute and everything but average.” The redhead retorted and before Emma could say anything, Clay moved over to her. 

“Hey, baby. You were amazing!” Clay said to Emma as he pulled her to him and kissed her lightly on the lips. She was shocked for a moment and then snapped out of it.

“Thanks, Clay.” She said and he handed her the flowers. 

“These are for you, my love.” 

“Thanks.” Emma said, blushing as he kissed her cheek. 

Clay turned to address the five women in front of him. “If you will excuse us, I’d like to take my girl home now.” He grabbed her bag and then her hand and moved towards the exit. They moved towards her vehicle and she drove them to the apartment that Jason had rented her. They move into the elevator and into the apartment. It was small but nice, with one bedroom and one bathroom. They sat down on the couch and Emma looked at Clay.

“Thank you for coming today. I’m sure it's not what you really wanted to do today.” She said, looking at him with big, blue eyes.

“Are you kidding? Emma that was amazing!” 

“Thanks. I hope you didn’t miss anything important.”

“Nothing’s more important than family.” Clay told her as he grabbed her chin so she would look at him. 

Emma had tears in her eyes, “it’s been a long time since I’ve had someone in the audience watching me.” 

Clay nodded, Jason was gone most of the time on deployments or missions and with her mom dead, there wasn’t anyone to come and be proud of her. Sure, he knew that Naima would go to her high school recitals but with her being in New York, she was usually alone. 

“I’m glad I could be here for you.” Emma moved so that her head was laying on Clay’s chest. He wrapped his arms around her and they laid together for a few moments before Emma moved away from him. 

“I hope you enjoyed it. I know that stuff like this is boring to guys like you and dad.” Emma said and Clay scoffed.

“Like I said earlier, you were amazing! And the way you held that note at the end of your solo performance… wow. You could be a SEAL just for that.” 

Emma laughed and said, “yeah, daddy taught me how to control my breathing enough to sustain a note for a long period of time.” 

“I even videoed it so I can show the boys when they get back.” 

“Thanks for that too.” Emma said and leaned back against the couch.

“So… I heard what those women said to you after the recital. Want to tell me about them?”

Emma rolled her eyes, “they are just your typically mean girls. They like to party and sleep around, which does not appeal to me at all.” 

“Well, I have to say I think I’d prefer to hang around with you than any of them.”

“Really? Because they thought you were hot. And you know you didn’t have to pretend to be my boyfriend, right?”

“I know but I enjoyed the looks on their faces.” Clay told her and Emma laughed, remembering the shocked and awe stares. 

“Yes, I’m going to get a million questions next week about you, you know.” Emma told him.

“Okay, tell them about me, I don’t care.”

“But you’re not my boyfriend.”

“They don’t have to know that.” 

Emma nodded and they stared into each other's eyes. “Why do you act the way you do?” Emma suddenly asked, which took Clay by surprise.

“What do you mean?”

“Dad talks about how great of an operator you are but that you don’t play well with others and you question his authority and you’re arrogant and cocky… but you’ve never been that way with me. It’s like you have a mask you wear with certain people and then it falls away with others.” 

“That’s because I do. I act that way because even though I’ve been a member of Bravo for a couple years now, I still feel as if I have to prove myself to Jason and Ray and the others. I feel like sometimes they still see me as just Ash Spenser’s kid.” 

“But they don’t. They see you as their brother. They see you as someone they trust. Why can’t you be open with them about who you really are like you are open with me?” Emma couldn’t understand why he was so raw with her, someone that he only had a handful of conversations with yet be completely different with her dad and Uncles, people his life depended on.

“Because you’re easier to talk to I guess.” He said to her and saw that she was blushing. He noticed that they were close enough together that if he moved a couple inches, he would be able to kiss her. They stared at each other again before glancing at each other’s lips. Their faces began inching closer to each other and finally their lips connected. 

They kissed each other hesitantly for a few moments before growing more passionate. They broke apart and Emma moved from the couch, she turned to grab his hand and then proceeded into her bedroom. 

“Are you sure?” Clay whispered to her, not wanting to break the spell but also not wanting to take advantage of her. 

“Yes, I want you.” Emma whispered back before kissing him once again. They moved together to remove their clothes and once they were both naked, they laid on the bed with Clay on top of Emma. He began kissing down her body, first at her neck then he moved towards her chest and stomach. He moved to kiss each of her hips then he bypassed where she wanted him most to kiss her knees. He moved back up and kissed the inside of both her thighs before reaching the stop that sent Emma into an orgasm. She closed her eyes and groaned, “Clay” as he manipulated her body. Once he had tasted her, he could not get enough. She tasted like nothing he had ever had the pleasure of tasting. 

“Clay, please, I need you.” She said as she tried to pull him back up her body. He relented and began kissing back up her stomach until he reached her lips. They shared a kiss before Clay leaned over to grab his pants. He pulled out his wallet and took out a condom. He looked at Emma once again to make sure that she was certain. Emma nodded and Clay began to tear the condom wrapper. He rolled the condom on before positioning himself at her opening. He fused their mouths together as he began entering her. Emma tensed for a moment and Clay paused. 

“Are you okay?” He asked and Emma nodded. When he was sure, he continued to push inside her. After he was completed inside, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and laid her head on his chest. 

“Please, Clay.” Emma said after a few minutes of him not thrusting to allow her to adjust to him. He began moving and after 15 minutes, they came together. 

He rolled off Emma and pulled her to him. “That was amazing.” He told her as she looked at him. 

“Yeah, it was.” She said and they kissed. “What does this mean?”

“It means that we want each other and we go from there.” Clay told her and she nodded. “I’ll be right back, I have to take care of the condom.” He told her before kissing her again and then getting up from the bed. 

Emma laid back on the pillows and thought about what had happened between them. She smiled once again. She never thought that someone like Clay would ever want to be with someone like her. They were so different, yet so similar. His phone began to ding in his pants pocket. 

“Clay, you have a text.” Emma called out to him and he replied, “see who it is.”

Emma rolled over and grabbed his pants. She pulled his phone out and noticed that it was a text message from a woman named Rebecca. ‘Sorry we couldn’t make dinner tonight. How about some other time?’ Emma’s heart almost stopped beating. He has a girlfriend. How could he do this?

Clay walked out of the bathroom to see Emma looking at his phone with a somber expression. “Who was it?”

Emma looked at him and said, “your girlfriend.” 

Clay looked confused, “Em, I don’t have a girlfriend.” 

“Really because you got a text for Rebecca that said she was sorry about your missed dinner date and that she wanted to see you some other time.” Emma began covering herself with the sheet. 

“Emma, that’s not…”

“Not what I think, right! I thought you were different.” Emma said as she started looking for her clothes.

“Let me explain…” Clay said as he moved towards the bed. 

“I’d love to hear the explanation.”

“Tonight was supposed to be our first date. I met her at a funeral that I went to and she said she wanted to get together. Yes, we did have a date for tonight but I cancelled to come with you. I wanted to be with you today more than I wanted to go out to dinner with her.” Clay said as he knelt down in front of her. He took her hands in his and made her look at him, “I want to be with you. I know this happened fast, but we would be so good together. I want you, I only want you.” 

Emma had tears in her eyes but she could see that he was sincere. “So, your single?” Emma wanted to make sure that she wasn’t the ‘other woman’. 

“I am unless you want to date me.” Clay said, looking at her with a shy smile.

“I do.” She said to him and they kissed before Clay climbed back in bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnvg0OtupuI (this is the link to Carrie Underwood How Great Thou Art, I feel like in a fanfiction Emma would sing like her.)
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F38Ogs7vapQ (this is how I see the medley going.)


	14. Shooting Range

Emma was sitting with her boyfriend of two weeks, Clay Spenser. She and Clay got together after she confided in him while she was angry at Jason for forcing her to take shooting lessons. He was teaching her the proper way to hold a gun. 

FLASHBACK

‘I can’t believe him!’ Emma was thinking as she stormed out of her house. ‘What makes him think that he can just force me to take shooting lessons!’ She climbed into her vehicle and drove down to the beach. She got out and walked down to the waves. She stood and just looked out into the ocean. She took a few deep breaths and tried to think of a way to get her dad to stop hounding her about this gun thing. 

“Emma?” She heard from behind her. She turned and looked to see who it was. 

“Clay.” Emma said as she saw him standing in front of her wearing only swim trunks. 

“What are you doing here? I thought Jason was supposed to spend the day with you?” 

“We were supposed to spend the day together, but dad is forcing me to learn how to shoot a gun. So I left.” 

“You don’t know how to shoot a gun?” Clay asked, shocked Jason had never taught Emma how to shoot.

“Of course I do, but he is on this kick where he wants me to carry a gun with me wherever I go when you guys aren’t home.” 

“And, you don’t want to?” 

“No, I don’t even want to go to the gun range with dad to practice.”

“Why?”

“Because he yells! He thinks that everyone should be able to shoot like a SEAL. Do I look like a SEAL to you?” Emma asked, gestured to herself. 

Clay shook his head back and forth and chuckled, “No. But I’ll tell you what.” Clay said, offering his hand to her. 

“What?” Emma asked as she took Clay’s hand and he pulled her over to the vehicles. “I will take you to the gun range and show you how to shoot proficiently if that would make this better between you and Jason.”

“Really? You’d do that?” Emma asked, shocked that he would be kind enough to offer spending time with him. 

“Of course.” Emma launched herself at him and wrapped her arms and legs around him. He chuckled at her actions but wrapped his arms around her waist. 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” She said over and over again as she pulled back to look at him. Their faces were close together. 

“On one condition…” Clay said as they were leaning towards each other. 

“What’s that?” Emma whispered.

“I get to take you out, on a date, after we go to the range.” Clay said, whispering to her, only an inch away from her face. 

Emma nodded and leaned into him. They kissed lightly before parting. 

“When do you want to go?” Clay asked as he sat her back on the ground.

“Tomorrow?” Emma asked and Clay nodded. 

END FLASHBACK

“Ok, do you know what kind of gun this is?” Clay asked.

“A handgun.” Emma said and Clay chuckled.

“Yes, but the name for it is a SIG Sauer P226. This is the gun we carry in the SEALs. I'm going to teach you how to load the magazine, put it in the gun, fire it, and reload.”

“Okay, and you will be patient, right?” Emma asked and Clay nodded.

“Yeah, I know how Jason can get. But, I promise that I will be patient.”

“Good because daddy told me that I had to hit the target six times today or he was taking over lessons.” Emma told him as she remembered her conversation with Jason. 

FLASHBACK

Emma smiled the entire time she was heading home from the beach. She has had a massive crush on Clay ever since he joined Bravo. When she first met him, she could barely look at him without blushing. And as she got to know him, she realized that he was an amazing person. She pulled into the driveway, basically floated through the front door and into the kitchen. Jason was standing in the kitchen drinking a beer. Emma walked to him and hugged him. 

“I have a solution to the issue from this morning.” Emma told him and Jason looked at her.

“Really? You going to let me take you to the range?”

“No, but I will let Clay take me. I mean, he knows how to shoot too, right?”

“You’d rather Spenser teach you to shoot?”

“Clay is more patient than you. You go into Master Chief mode, meaning that you believe everyone is a SEAL. Clay will just not distract me as much. The main focus is to teach me how to shoot proficiently, right?” 

“Yeah… okay, Spenser can take you to shoot. But, you have to hit the target six times or I take over training.”

“Done.”

END FLASHBACK

“I’ll have you shooting like a SEAL in no time.” Clay said confidently and Emma smiled, loving the fact that he believed in her. 

An hour later, Emma was standing in front of the target with the gun in her hands. Clay had taught her how to place the bullets in the magazine, how to place the magazine in the gun, how to aim and the right stance. 

“Okay, Em… spread your legs, both hands on the gun, aim at the target and fire.”

“How many shots?” Emma asked.

“Ever how many you want, unload the mag if you feel comfortable doing that.” Emma did as she was told and aimed the gun. She fired fifteen shots in succession and Clay was shocked at how many times he actually hit the target. She handed the gun back to Clay and turned to him. 

“How did I do?” 

“You did amazing! You hit the target every time. 13 of the 15 would kill him and two in the shoulder would definitely wound him enough to stop him.” 

“Does that mean we can stop and spend the rest of the day together?” Emma asked hopefully and Clay relented.

“Yes, let’s pack up.” 

“Can I take a picture to show dad?”

“Yeah, definitely do that.” 

____________________________________________________________________________

Clay took Emma back to his apartment with some takeout. He wanted to take her to a nice restaurant but Emma told him that she wanted to stay in with him. They sat down on his couch and began eating. 

“So, you think dad will be impressed?” Emma asked in between bites. 

“I would say yes, Jace is going to be very impressed.”

“I actually had a good time. You are a very good instructor.” 

“Thanks, but you seem like a natural.” 

“Wonder if it’s genetic?” Emma asked and they both laughed, knowing that once Jason found out, he would claim that. 

“I had fun today.” Clay told her and she smiled.

“Me too. More fun than I have in a long time.” 

“We should do this again sometime.” Clay offered and Emma looked at him. 

“I would love that. If you aren’t busy…”

“I could never be too busy to hang out with you.” 

“I figured you would be out with your girlfriend… uh… dad told me her name.” Emma said, trying to remember what it was. 

“Stella.” Clay offered and Emma nodded. “We broke up. She couldn’t handle being with a SEAL.”

“Well, you are obviously better off and she wasn’t the one.”

“Actually, I thought she was.”

Emma scoffed, “any person who can’t handle your job isn’t the right person for you. If she loved you, if she really loved you, then your job wouldn’t be an issue.” Emma told him.

“You really think that?”

Emma looked at him as if he had lost his mind. “Of course I do. If I was dating someone like you and I loved you… your job wouldn’t be an issue.” 

“Well, yeah, but you’ve lived this life everyday. You already know what to expect.”

“That’s true. But even if I didn’t and I loved you, it wouldn’t matter.”

“Would you ever consider dating a SEAL?” Clay suddenly asked.

Emma looked at him and took a deep breath before nodding. “Yes, yes I would.” 

Clay kissed her after she admitted that she would willingly date a SEAL. Emma hesitated in kissing him before returning the kiss, passionately. Emma placed her hands on his face and he wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her closer to him. She climbed onto his lap and he leaned back against the couch. He placed his hands on her butt and moved her over his erection. Emma moaned as she felt him under her. They broke apart to catch her breath and they looked at each other, smiling. 

“So… where do we go from here?” Clay asked, wanting Emma to be the one who makes the decision. 

“Well… you could take me to bed.” Emma said under hooded eyes with a sexy smile. 

“Are you sure?” Clay asked and Emma nodded, before kissing him deeply. He grabbed her and stood up with her legs around his waist. He walked them into his bedroom and sat her down on his bed. He stood up and looked at her before he removed his t-shirt. Emma looked at his chest and abs. She kissed his abs and noticed that he had a scar on his side. She looked at him and said, “stab wound?” 

“How did you know?” Clay asked, surprised. Emma chuckled and kissed the scar.

“I am Jason Hayes’ daughter, you know. Do you have any idea how many times my dad has been stabbed?” She asked the rhetorical question before kissing his chest again. He leant down and kissed her on the lips. She moved back further on the bed before pulling her top over her head and Clay began removing her pants. She laid there, in front of him, in only her bra and panties. 

“You are so beautiful.” He breathed out and began unbuttoning his pants. After he is left with only his boxers on, he moves over her and settles between her thighs. Their hands roam and lips meet. After a few minutes of light kisses and touches, they remove the last of their clothes. 

“Are you sure?” Clay asked once again, to make sure that he wasn’t rushing her. 

Emma nodded and said, “I want you, only you.” 

With that, Clay moved from her and grabbed a condom from his bedside table. He tore the rapper, rolled on the condom and positioned himself over her once again. As he began entering her, noticed that Emma began to tense. He stopped and looked at her. She moved her head to his and kissed him deeply. “Please, keep going.” Clay began thrusting again and felt her hymen break as he finished entering her. “Oh!” Emma moaned loudly as she grabbed his shoulders. 

“Are you okay?” Clay asked, wanting to make sure she wasn’t hurting.

“Yes, I’m so okay. You feel so good in me.” Emma said and Clay groaned, loving that she was vocal about their intimate situation.

“You feel so good around me.” He replied and began to move. 

“Oh, please!” Emma began to beg. Clay began to move faster and faster until she came with a scream. “Clay!”

He stops thrusting to watch her, she was so beautiful. Emma kissed him and she could feel him throbbing inside her. “Clay.”

“Yeah, Em?”

“I want to feel you.” She said and he began to move inside her once again. He thrust several more times before finishing. He moves off of her and out of bed to remove the condom. He returns to the bed and pulls her towards him. They curled up together for a few minutes until Emma broke their bubble. “I should probably get back home before dad comes looking for us.”

“Yeah, I’ll drive you home. You may want to take a shower.”

Emma looked at him, confused. 

“You smell like sex.” Clay told her and Emma blushed. He smiled and kissed her. She got up, put her hair in a bun and got into the shower. She left the shower, got redressed, and they headed out the door. 

Fifteen minutes later, Clay pulled up at the Hayes’ house and Emma turned to him.

“Thank you for today.” She said, looking at him. 

“It was definitely no problem. Can we get together again this week?”

“For sex or for something else?” Emma asked him, wanting to make sure that he didn’t want a fling.

“A date, definitely.” 

“Then yes, call me?” 

“Of course. See you later.” Emma got out of the truck and walked into the house. Jason was sitting on the couch and turned to look at her. 

“How did it go today?” Jason asked and Emma smiled.

“I shot 15 rounds out of the magazine into the target.” Emma told him, proudly.

“Seriously?” Jason asked, surprised that Spenser would have done such a good job with his daughter.

“Yes, I even took a picture.” She took out her phone and showed him. Jason actually looked impressed.

“Wow! Em, this is amazing. Spenser did a great job!”

“Yeah, he definitely took care of me.” Emma said before moving up the stairs and into her room.


	15. Misunderstanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma overhears a conversation between Clay/Sonny and misunderstands!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank ididitjustforthis for helping me with this chapter! She actually helped co-write this chapter and I could not be more grateful because she is amazing and incredibly talented! We hope that you all enjoy it. 
> 
> Sonny is a bit of an ass in this chapter, be warned!

It was a sunny Friday morning at DEVGRU and Bravo Team was puttering around their cages when Sonny shuffled into the room clearly hungover. The wafting smell of booze and what could only be the bathroom of a strip club clung to him as he made his way to his cage. Seeing the opportunity to tease their brother, everyone jumped on him immediately. 

“So, Son, have a good night?” Jason asked. Sonny gave a grunt in response. 

“You look like you spent the night getting worked over yourself.” Ray tittered.

“Who was it this time? Tiffany? Brittney? Chardonnay?” Clay joked, bringing Sonny’s irritated, bloodshot gaze in his direction. 

“Just because you aren’t getting any, platinum wonder, doesn’t mean that all of us aren’t.” 

The boys went quiet as the temperature in the room dropped. Clay had been dating Emma Hayes, Jason’s daughter, for the past three months and the speculation surrounding that part of their relationship was wholly unwelcome. Clay stated firmy, his eyes on Sonny, “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Son.” 

“Oh, I don’t? So you’re admitting to having sex with Emma?” 

“No…” 

“So you haven’t deflowered the boss's daughter?” 

“That’s enough Sonny.” Jason stepped in, not wanting to hear about his daughter’s potential sex life. 

“I’m just trying to set the record straight, Jace. Loverboy over here is talking about my sex life, so I’m just pointing out his lack of one.” 

“Sonny…” Clay warned.

“What? What are you going to say? Are you going to deny that you and Emma haven’t had sex?” 

Clay paused for a long moment, not saying anything. He didn’t want to talk about this with the team, mostly because they’ve known Emma since she was little. Plus, one of them was her father and that was another level of weird. 

Clay&Emma- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Clay&Emma 

Unbeknownst to them, Emma was standing outside the partially open door. Clay had left his phone at her house the night before and her dad had forgotten to take it with him this morning. She had come to the door just as they began their locker room talk. What she heard next was something she never thought she would hear: her Uncle Sonny - her favorite uncle - making comments about her sex life. But she was also shocked that Clay wasn’t forcing him to stop or telling him that it wasn’t any of his business. If anything, Clay seemed to be allowing Sonny to continue with his assumptions. Tears began filling her eyes.

How could Clay not tell them the truth? How could he let her family believe that he had sex with her? 

She walked away, not bothering to leave his phone. 

Clay&Emma- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Clay&Emma 

Clay disregarded the rest of the team as he got into Sonny’s face, intent on setting him straight.

"What Emma and I do or don't do is none of your business, Sonny! I hoped that as my brother and someone important to her that you would respect that. And Emma, she's never-" Clay stopped, not wanting to betray Emma’s trust but knowing that he needed to stand up for her to Sonny. "-our relationship moves forward at her pace, her decision. I'm not going to shout it from the rooftops or brag like it's just another notch on a bedpost if and when it happens. I love and respect her, and any time I get to spend with her, even if it's just holding her hand, is worth more to me than whatever any one night stand could offer. You better get that through your head, Sonny, because this is the one and only time this conversation is ever going to happen." 

Clay moved back to his cage, not looking at Jason or the other members of Bravo. 

Jason stood there looking at Spenser. He could infer what Clay was trying to tell them without saying it outloud. He was both relieved that his baby girl was still a virgin and distressed at the fact that Clay had more or less admitted to having any kind of intimacy with his daughter. 

Ray admired Clay’s bravery in that moment. Clay looked Sonny in the eye, with everyone in the room, and confessed that he was in love with Emma. Everyone on the team knew that Clay and Emma had been dating for a short while and had had frequent conversations amongst themselves about whether or not their relationship was going to last. If this was any indication, it looked like it would. 

Trent and Brock were proud that Clay was taking such care with Emma, their niece, to make sure that such a big decision could be made without any pressure or expectations.

Sonny just stared frozen at Clay. He knew that he was in the wrong and he sobered up quickly at the realization of the line he had just taken a flying leap over. Sonny looked at Jason and saw the stark anger in his dark brown eyes aimed directly at him. He knew that he would be running hills until he either died or wished he would at the very least. 

Jason turned his attention back to Clay. “Spenser, why don’t you take the day?” 

Clay nodded quickly, relieved at the thought of getting some space from what just happened. “Yeah, boss. Thanks.” He packed up his cage and left without a word. 

After he was gone, Jason turned to Sonny. “What the hell was that?” He demanded.

“I…” 

“I get that we usually make fun of each other’s personal lives but I thought, I expected, you of all people would not attack Spenser about dating Emma!”

“Jace…” 

“I believe I made it clear that my daughter and locker room talk didn’t go in the same sentence and to question Spenser about his sex life, with MY daughter, is unacceptable.” Jason said to him before storming out of the room, Ray, Trent and Brock behind him. 

Clay&Emma- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Clay&Emma 

Emma had cried the entire drive back to her house and continued to cry as she made her way towards her bedroom. Over the past three months Clay had become an important part of her life. When Emma imagined her dreams, her mind formulating what she wanted for her future, all those scenarios included him right there beside her. 

She thought back on all the moments they spent together. Clay was always such a gentleman. From holding doors and keeping his hand from venturing too far south on the small of her back, to being kind and thoughtful in whatever situation they were in. He payed genuine attention to her. Emma's wants and needs mattered to Clay. He let her take the lead when it came to their physical relationship and had always been very careful to keep that aspect pressure free, only going as far as she allowed. It both assuaged her fears and made her want him more. It was no wonder that Emma believed she was falling in love with him. 

Emma’s thoughts were cut-off by the sound of knocking. She moved down the stairs slowly, drying her eyes before opening the door to find a smiling Clay Spenser. 

“Hey, baby! Jason let me leave work early and I wanted to spend the day with my favorite girl.”

“You know what Clay… I don’t feel like company right now.” Emma barked. His eyes widened as he registered her stoney face. The concern built as he took in the puffiness around her eyes and the blotchy redness that could only mean she had been crying. 

“Baby, what’s wrong? Is everything okay? Did something happen?” 

Emma scoffed, crossing her arms tightly. “I know that you and the guys give each other crap about everything under the sun and I know that you all probably say things you wouldn’t normally say in front of anyone else but I expected more from you and the people I consider family.” 

Clay stared at her in confusion, his mind racing. “Baby, what are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about your locker room talk today. About our sex life - wait, I’m sorry. Our lack of a sex life!” 

“Emma…” Clay scrambled to explain himself but was quickly shut down by Emma.

“Don’t!” She exclaimed, the tears beginning to fall once again. “I was there, Clay! I heard you and Uncle Sonny! I don’t care if the guys tease us about our relationship, but I don’t deserve to be disrespected like that! I had always hoped that the guy I fell in love with wouldn’t let that happen, but I guess I was wrong.”

“Emma, it’s not what you-”

“I don’t want to hear excuses! I need space to think about this.”

“What do you mean by that, Em?” He could feel his heartbeat speeding up, dread filling him at her next words.

Emma swallowed the lump in her throat before answering.“I need to consider if I want our relationship to continue.”

“Please Em, just…”

“Clay, please leave.” She begged, tears running down her cheeks. Dejected, Clay nodded and moved towards the door. He turned back to her one last time as she made to go up the stairs. 

“I love you, Emma Hayes. Don’t forget that.” With that he walked out the door and Emma fled to her room, climbing back into bed and burying her sobs in her pillow.

Clay&Emma- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Clay&Emma 

Around 1800, Jason walked into the house, exhausted. He had punished Sonny enough for today, forcing him to run hills for three straight hours and then do rigorous exercises with the rest of the team. He was surprised to see Emma’s car still in the driveway. He had assumed that with Spenser being home all day, she would be with him until her curfew. The house was silent as he stepped in the door. After seeing the first floor was empty, Jason made his way up the stairs and peaked into Emma’s room. She was laying face down on her bed with her arms wrapped tightly around her pillow. He rapped his knuckles lightly on the door jamb before walking into the room.

“Hey, Em. Thought you would be with Spenser.” 

Emma turned to look at him, her face puffy and her eyes red. “I kind of broke up with Clay.”

Jason moved quickly, sitting himself down on her bedside. “Sweetheart, what happened?” He pleaded, not understanding what could’ve transpired between last night when she was happily cuddled up to his rookie on the couch to now, heartbreak evident on her face.

“You know exactly what happened, Daddy.” She whispered in a graveled voice. 

Jason stared at Emma, brows scrunched in confusion as he waited for her to elaborate. 

She sat up against her headboard and took a deep breath in an attempt to steady her voice. “I was at DEVGRU this morning to bring Clay his phone and I overheard the conversation between him and Uncle Sonny.”

“Oh, Em. Look Uncle Sonny was wrong to say that…”

“Yes, Daddy, he was. But, it wasn’t that. It was Clay!”

Jason reared back, not understanding.“Okay, I’m confused…”

“Clay didn’t stand up for me! He went along with what Uncle Sonny was saying! He didn’t acknowledge the truth about our relationship!” 

“Emma, he did.” Jason stated patiently.

“I heard the conversation, Daddy! Uncle Sonny made a comment about Clay and I having-” She cut-off not wanting to say that word in front of her dad before shaking it off and pushing forward. “Clay didn’t say anything!”

“Em…did you stay for the whole conversation?” 

“I didn’t really want to hear how my boyfriend was portraying our relationship to my Uncles and my father, so no!”

“Clay put Sonny in his place. He said that he loved and respected you enough to wait until you were ready. That being in a relationship with you was better than anything he could find with anyone else. That’s as far as it went before he shut it down.” 

Emma silently ruminated over what her father just revealed before her eyes filled with tears again, but for an entirely different reason. “Clay really told you guys that?” 

Jason nodded and Emma sniffed, trying to wipe her nose and face with her hands that shook from nerves. Jason wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest as she tried to calm down. Emma let out a couple more sobs before the distress melted to relief and she was able to compose herself. “Clay doesn’t have his phone. Can I take it to him?” Emma asked, pulling away.

Jason nodded, knowing that after the emotional rollercoaster both her and Spenser had been through today, they’d both need to clear the air as soon as possible. “Yeah, sweetheart.”

He stood up from the bed and made for the door as Emma readied herself to leave. Pausing in the doorway in consideration, he turned back to Emma. “It’s getting late. Why don’t you pack a bag and spend the night.”

“Really?” Emma asked, surprised.

“It’s been a rough day and I know you and Clay need some time. I want this worked out before he’s due back at base.” Knowing an opportunity when she sees one, Emma kissed his cheek, and packed a bag before practically running to her car. She needed to get clear of the house and the neighborhood before he could come to his senses and change his mind. 

Clay&Emma- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Clay&Emma 

Emma pulled into the parking lot of Clay’s apartment complex and spent a moment gathering her thoughts before getting out of the car and making the trek to his unit. When she reached his door, she paused before knocking. Emma nervously adjusted the strap of her overnight bag as she heard movement in the apartment. The door swung open to reveal Clay’s downcast form.

“You left your phone.” She started quietly, holding up the device. “May I come in?” Clay nodded, accepting his phone and moving out of the doorway. Emma set her bag down next to the couch and turned back towards him as the door clicked shut. 

“Emma..will you please just..let me just tell you what happened..I know that you’re upset-” Clay stuttered rapidly, trying to explain. Emma cut him off, wrapping her arms around his waist and rising up on her toes to kiss him tenderly. 

She pulled back after a moment to meet his adorably confused gaze.

“Clay, you don’t have to explain or apologize. You have nothing to be sorry for.” She gently cupped his cheeks as he stared intently back at her. “Dad told me everything. I’m the one who should apologize to you. I jumped to a conclusion without having all the information and I should’ve known that you would never allow anyone to talk about me, us, like that.” 

Clay tightened his hold, intent on the contact after thinking he might have lost any chance of feeling her in his arms. “Emma, I would never let anyone get away with doing something like that. You and our relationship are one of the most important things to me and I would never push you to do anything you didn’t want to do.” 

Emma nodded, her fingers scratching softly through hair at the base of his neck as she scanned his face in contemplation. “What if I do want to?” Emma whispered. 

Clay’s face froze as he processed her question, his eyes going wide. 

“What if you do want to what?” Clay inquired carefully, making sure that he heard her right.

“What if I DO want you to make love to me?” 

“Is this because of the conversation between Sonny and I?” He asked abruptly, unable to hold it in. “Because you know we don’t have to rush into this. I can wait. I’m waiting. I love waiting. I’m a sniper, it’s what I do best.”

Emma beamed up at him as he tried to reassure her at lightning speed. She kissed him again before sliding her hands down the front of his shirt. “I’m ready.”

“Ready? You mean ready now?” Clay stressed. Emma rolled her eyes with an amused smile before tugging him towards his bedroom. 

“Yes, Clay, Right now.”

He followed behind her in a daze, making it to the foot of his bed before the reality of what was about to happen finally settled in.

“Wait!” Clay threw his hands up as if to stop himself going forward. “Once we do this, we can’t undo it.” He became more desperate as she crossed her arms, grabbing the hem of her top and pulling it over her head. “You have to be sure.” 

Emma peered up at him as she stood there in her bra. She grasped his hands in hers, lowering them so she could step into the space between them, bringing them chest to chest as he automatically enfolded her in his arms. 

“I’m sure.” She weaved her hands under his arms to his back, sliding them up to rest against his shoulders. “I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” 

There was no mistaking the adamant tone in Emma’s voice, her face open and earnest. Clay swooped down to kiss her passionately, his hesitation dissolving. 

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you, too.” He pulled back, grabbing his collar and tugging it swiftly over his head before bringing his lips back to hers. 

They moved onto the bed without breaking their embrace. Emma lay back against the pillow with Clay slotted between her legs, his hands on either side of her head to keep his weight from crushing her. Emma ran her hands down his bare back, squeezing when she reached his firm behind. Clay chuckled before pulling away to look down at her.

“Are you enjoying yourself already, Em?” 

Emma bit her lip and nodded. “Aren’t you?”

“Oh, I am definitely enjoying myself.” Clay emphasized as he pressed his hips into hers. She closed her eyes, moaning at the feeling of his growing length against her naked thigh. 

Clay muffled her moan with his mouth before trailing kisses down her body. His lips explored every piece of soft skin he could reach. His crystal blue eyes were almost eclipsed by his pupils, blown wide with desire. She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. 

Clay began to unzip her skirt, Emma lifting her hips so he could draw it down her legs, leaving her only in her matching bra and panties. She laid under him watching his eyes roam her body. Emma nervously hoped that Clay liked what he saw and when his hungry gaze met hers, she couldn’t hold back her blush. She had never seen his eyes this dark before. Her fingers worked to undo the button on his jeans as she dared to stare back, both of them shifting so he could kick off the article of clothing. 

The two laid still for a moment, lightly panting, their underclothes the last barrier between them. Clay moved his warm hands down Emma’s sides before stopping to grasp her thighs. Pulling them up to wrap around his waist, he began to thrust lightly against the thin lace covering her center. He nipped and licked at the soft skin under her jaw as she entwined her arms around his neck. 

“Are you ready?” Clay murmured, using his dwindling restraint to make sure she was prepared to go further.

“Yes.” 

He unclasped her bra with nimble fingers, pulling it away from her body. Clay paid equal attention to her breasts, sucking and kissing each nipple until she was moaning his name, her hands grasping at the sheets. He began to move down her stomach to her panties. He glanced up at her in silent question, only going forward after she nodded. Clay slipped his fingers under the waistband on either side of her hips and pulled them down her shapely legs. She finally laid bare under him and all he could think about was finally being inside her. But more than that Clay wanted Emma to feel how good this could be and knew that he had to make sure she was ready for him. He ventured further down, his broad shoulders parting her legs as his mouth hovered over her pink folds. A low groan escaped him at how wet she was when his lips and tongue met her center, alternating between deep probing licks and nipping lightly at her clit. Clay kept a large steady palm on her belly as Emma writhed against his mouth and slowly slipped a single finger into her tight channel. Emma gasped, tensing at the intrusion.

“Relax, baby.” His beard rasped against the smooth, sensitive skin of her inner thigh causing them to twitch. “It’s okay if you want to stop.” Gently, Clay removed his finger and moved back up her body.

“I don’t want you to stop. It’s just…nothing has ever been inside me.” Emma felt embarrassed, not meeting his eyes. 

“Hey, that isn’t something you need to be ashamed of. We’re going at your pace.” Clay reassured as he shifted to lay on his side facing her. Trusting him and wanting to feel those sensations again, Emma kissed him firmly before pulling his arm over her and leading his hand back to her soaked folds. They locked eyes as he began to sink a finger into her entrance. Emma gripped at his arm as he shifted the thick digit slowly in and out.

“Okay?” 

Emma nodded, her breaths beginning to come out in short pants. He swiped back and forth across her clit with a calloused thumb before adding a second finger. Emma gasped as she felt him stretch her further. He paused to allow her to adjust to his large fingers, his lips pressed to her temple. Emma surged up to kiss him and began to rock against his hand. With their lips still connected, he sped up his movements, his fingers thrusting rapidly while his thumb pressed directly on her clit in firm, tight circles. She began fluttering around his fingers, on the brink of orgasm. Curling his other arm beneath her arched back, he palmed her breast, plucking her nipple to add that last bit of stimulation to make her explode. 

Clay let Emma ride out her release before carefully pulling his fingers from her. Rolling her into his chest with the arm underneath her, he stroked his palm over her side while lightly kissing along her neck and shoulder. Once Emma recovered, a new fervor seemed to overtake her as she began pushing his boxers down his hips. He hesitated briefly before following her lead and kicking them off. Emma let her eyes rove over the expanse of him. He was magnificent; the definition of his body putting statues sculpted after the gods to shame. But faced with more man than she’s ever seen before, Emma’s lack of experience made itself known. What was she supposed to do next?

Clay seemed to have read her mind. “Do whatever you want to do, Em.” 

Their eyes connected as Emma slowly caressed his body, mapping the heated skin pulled tight over muscle. Its satiny topography was briefly interrupted by scars that she delicately traced, both old and new. Finally reaching his length, Emma was daunted by his size. She had never done this before but she wasn’t so sure it would fit. 

“Are you still okay with this?” Emma nodded, pushing down her fears and instead focusing on the play of muscles in Clay’s back as he stretched to grab protection from his nightstand. Kneeling between Emma’s legs, he rolled the condom on. Leaning down with his forearm next to her head, Clay captured her lips in dragging kisses as he rocked his hips into hers. His length slid through her parted folds coating it in her juices. He could feel her shudder as the tip would catch against her hypersensitive bundle of nerves. Done torturing them both, Clay took himself in hand, resting the head against her opening. He looked for any last signs that she wanted to stop before pressing forward. After a moment of firm pressure, his head finally popped past the tight ring of her entrance. Clay slanted his mouth back over hers as he pushed further. Emma grabbed at the sheets, almost breathless at the unfamiliar stretch, letting out a sound of discomfort as her hymen gave. He paused his movements as a small tear streaked from the corner of eye to her hairline.

“Em?” He cleared the watery trail with the side of his thumb, afraid that he was hurting her.

She shook her head. “Don’t stop.” 

“We can if it’s too much.” 

“Clay, it only hurt for a moment. Please,” she begged, “I don’t want you to stop.” Emma hooked her feet over the back of his thighs to pull him closer and peppered kisses along his face and neck. Clay relented, undulating his hips to move inside her with shallow thrusts, plunging further with every push. When he was fully sheathed, they laid completely connected for a few moments. Clay dropped his forehead against hers, reveling in the warm, snug feeling of her around him. His SEAL training had never been more handy as he focused on his breathing.

Growing restless and wanting, Emma began to shift against him to encourage him to move. The tempo of his thrusts gradually grew faster and harder as she urged him for more between gasps and moans. They moved together, Clay clasping one of her hands in his against the pillow and his other reaching down to hitch her thigh over his side. The change in angle repeatedly dragged his length against a spot in Emma that made something inside her snap, triggering an intense wave of pleasure that left her a writhing mess as she sobbed his name. Riding Emma through her release, Clay’s followed closely after, pumping his hips tightly against hers with a loud groan. The two collapsed in a tangled heap, slick with sweat as they came down from their high. 

Finally finding enough energy to move, Clay pushed Emma’s gold tresses out of her face and pecked her gently on the lips before carefully pulling away from her. He rolled over onto his back and shifted to get off the bed. Removing the condom he started towards the bathroom to discard it. 

“Where are you going?” Emma sat up anxiously, hugging the pillow to cover her breasts.

“Just getting rid of the condom. I’ll be right back, baby.” Clay bent to kiss her forehead and walked to the bathroom. As he tied off the condom he noticed the blood smeared on the outside. Throwing it away and cleaning himself up, Clay proceeded to wet a washcloth before heading back to bed. He sat down beside her where she laid and offered her the damp towel. 

“Thank you.” Emma took it from him and began to clean the now tender area. 

“How do you feel?” He asked, tossing the cloth into the hamper across the room when she was done.

“A little sore but other than that, perfect.” Emma smiled as she leaned into him, his lips meeting hers in a light kiss. He cupped the side of her face as she pulled back, his thumb brushing across the apple of her cheek. 

“What time do you have to go home?”

“Actually, dad told me I could spend the night. If that’s okay with you?” She fiddled with the edge of the pillow case, uncertain that he would want her to stay. 

Clay smiled, already pulling the sheets back. “Of course it’s fine with me.” 

Clay&Emma- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Clay&Emma 

Hours after they made love for the first time, Emma and Clay were watching a movie in his living room when there was a knock on the door. Emma moved to answer it and when she opened the door, she was met by a horrified Sonny Quinn. Sonny looked at her in shock, her hair was messed up and it was obvious that she had nothing under Clay’s shirt. Sonny put his hand over his eyes and turned around. 

“Emma?” Sonny asked, not believing what he had seen. 

“So, I guess Clay’s finally getting some too, huh Uncle Sonny?” She remarked in a dry, unimpressed tone. Clay was blushing on the couch with his head in one of his hands. 

“I take it he told you about today, pebbles?”

“No, I was there. I heard it.” 

With that, Sonny turned around and looked at her. “I’m so sorry, Emma. I should have never said anything about you and Spenser. I was drunk and… I know that is not an excuse, but I am really sorry.” 

“Are you? For real?” Emma asked, showing him that she was not at all happy about what had transpired. 

“Yes, I am. Please forgive me.” Sonny pleaded which Emma was thoroughly enjoying.

She let him stew in uncertainty before finally answering. “Fine, I forgive you. But I’m not the only one you should be apologizing too, Uncle Sonny.” Emma crossed her arms.

“You’re right, sunshine. Is Spenser here?” Emma jerked her head to the couch, where Clay was sitting. 

“I’ll leave the two of you alone.” With that, Emma marched into Clay’s bedroom with her head held high and closed the door. 

Clay&Emma- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Clay&Emma 

Monday morning, Clay walked into the DEVGRU building with a huge smile on his face. Emma had convinced Jason to let her spend the entire weekend at Clay’s. They spent most of their time together in bed, getting to know each other in ways that only lover’s do. He dropped Emma off at her house this morning before heading into work. He walked into the cage room and noticed that all of his brothers were getting ready for the day. He looked at the clock on the wall and noticed that he was 5 minutes late. The boys turned to him and watched as he practically glided over to his cage. They shared a look between themselves and noticed that Sonny was trying to avoid any eye contact. They went back to inventorying their cages when they heard Clay begin to hum. 

“So, Spenser…” Ray started and got everyone’s attention. “Jason said that you and Emma had a little spat. Everything okay between you two?”

Clay looked at Ray for a moment, then moved his gaze to Jason, before landing on Sonny. “Yeah, Em and I are just fine.”

“What about you and Sonny?” Jason questioned, wanting to make sure everything had been taken care of, just in case they got spun up. 

“We’re golden, right Son?” Clay questioned and Sonny stuttered.

“Yep… Just fine… Perfect and as happy as a June bug… nothing wrong between me and Spenser… nothing wrong between me and princess… everything’s absolutely perfect.” Sonny rambled, making Jason, Ray, Trent and Brock look at him strangely before turning back to Clay. Clay gave them a half smile and returned to his inventory, trying not to blush.


	16. Generosity

Clay and Emma had been dating for about 6 weeks and Emma was thinking about taking their relationship to the next step. She was having lunch with Naima and she was trying to approach the subject and talk to Naima about starting a physical relationship. She was nervous, Naima had known her a long time and the fact that Clay worked with her Uncle Ray made this conversation even harder. Emma was in deep thought when Naima tried to get her attention. 

“Emma? Emma?” Naima tried to get her attention. Emma shook her head and looked at her aunt, blushing.

“Yeah, sorry, I was thinking.” 

“About what?”

Emma paused and looked at Naima before starting, “can I talk to you about something?” 

“Of course, sweetie. You can talk to me about anything.”

“You know how Clay and I have been dating for several weeks…”

“Yes?” Naima encouraged her to continue.

“Well, I’ve been thinking about… Clay and I taking our relationship to the next level.” 

Naima’s eyes widened. “Really? Whose idea was that? Yours or Clay’s?” Naima was worried that Emma felt rushed.

“Mine, actually Clay has not mentioned anything about sex. I’m worried that he doesn’t want to be with me… in that way.” 

“Why? Has he said anything?” 

“No! But, he is so much more experienced than I am and I’m worried that he sees me as a little girl and not a woman.” 

“Sweetie, you will know when you are ready.”

“What… What’s it like?” Emma hesitantly asked and Naima smiled.

“Sex isn’t the same for everyone, but when its with the right person it can be the most magical and wonderful thing to happen.” Naima smiled, reassuringly and Emma nodded. 

Clay&Emma---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Clay&Emma

Two weeks after Emma and Naima had their conversation, Clay and Emma were out walking in the park. They were holding hands and eating shaved ice. Clay led them to a park bench and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as she leaned into his chest. Emma was eating her shaved ice in silence and Clay noticed that she was in deep thought. 

“Everything okay, Em?” 

“Yeah, just thinking.”

“About what, baby?”

“Sex.” Emma blurted out and Clay choked on his shaved ice. “Are you okay?” Emma patted his back as he coughed.

“Yeah, yeah, Em, I’m good.” Clay’s voice came out horse. “Why? Why are you thinking about sex?”

“Well we’re dating and I assumed that eventually we would… I… you do want to…”

“Yes! Of course. I want to make love to you but I haven’t wanted to rush you because I know that you’ve never…” Clay rushed to reassure her.

“I appreciate that but I’ve thought that you didn’t find me attractive enough to want to…” Emma was cut off by his lips. Clay pulled her as close as he could and devoured her lips, leaving her breathless. She pulled away, breathless. 

“Do not ever think that I don’t find you attractive. You are the most beautiful thing that I have seen. I want to make love to you everytime I see you because I don’t want you to think that I’m trying to force you into something you may not be ready for.” 

“Thank you.” Emma whispered and she kissed his lips lightly before returning to her shaved ice. 

Clay&Emma--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Clay&Emma

Clay and Emma walked into a local pizza place and sat down at one of the booths. It wasn’t very crowded and they noticed a young mother with her son and daughter. The mother looked stressed and the kids looked unhappy. They were sharing one plate of quesadillas. 

“Mom, it’s my birthday, why can’t I get my own?”

“Sweetie, I don’t have the money right now, but you can have my part.” The mother gave up her piece.

“What about cake?” The boy asked and the mother had tears in her eyes.

“I can’t afford that, sweetie.” 

Clay and Emma watched on and Clay turned to Emma. “I’ll be right back baby.” Clay got up and walked to the counter and then out of the restaurant. Emma wondered where he was going but she didn’t follow him. About five minutes later, Clay walked back into the restaurant with a gift under his arm. He walked over to their table and Emma felt as if she was the luckiest woman in the world to have a man like him. 

“Excuse me? I couldn’t help but overhear. I’d like to pay for your meals,” Clay told them as the waitress brought over a large pepperoni pizza to the table. “And I have something for the birthday boy.” Clay said, handing him the box. He was smiling from ear to ear and he opened the box. 

“Oh my gosh! Thank you, Mister!” He jumped up and hugged Clay. “Mom! He got me roller blades!” 

The mother sat quietly, crying. Clay pulled out his wallet and handed her a $100 bill. 

“I can’t accept that. You’ve done so much already.” 

“Look, everyone has a hard time every once and awhile and needs help. You should get some relief. You should take that and do something special with your children tonight. Oh, and cakes on me as well.” They all thanked him and he returned to Emma, who was sitting there smiling at him. 

“You are amazing!” She whispered and got up from the table. “Let’s go.” She grabbed her hand, threw money on the table to cover the bill and a tip then pulled Clay out of the restaurant. 

“Emma? What are you…?” Clay was cut off by Emma attacking his lips. She wrapped her arms around him and pinned him to the side of his truck. The kiss was so passionate Clay wondered if she was going to devour him. As they became desperate for air, Emma pulled away from him and Clay had a blissful expression on his face. “What brought that on?”

“You helping that woman and her kids. It was so generous and compassionate. So like you. Always thinking about others.” She whispered and kissed him again before pulling back. “Take me to your apartment.” 

Clay nodded, opened the door and allowed her to slide into the passenger seat. He walked around to the drivers side, climbed in and drove to his apartment. The entire way there, Emma was leaning over the divider and kissing/sucking on his ear. Her hand slide up his thigh and onto his stomach, just above his hips. 

Clay groaned, “Emma, if you don’t stop I’m going to wreck.” Emma sighed and moved back into her seat. 

Five minutes later, Clay pulled into his parking space, climbed out of the truck, walked around to Emma’s side, helped her down and grabbed her hand as they were walking towards the building. Once they were inside, Emma pinned him against the door frame and began to unbutton his shirt. 

“Em? Baby?” Clay looked down at her as she began kissing his chest.

“I want you. Now.” Emma pulled him towards his bedroom but he stopped.

“Okay, baby I am both confused and very excited. What about our conversation earlier?”

“For the last several weeks I’ve been thinking hard about us. And I’ve realized that you are the perfect man.”

“Emma, I’m not perfect.” Clay moved her to the couch and she sat down in his lap. 

“You are the perfect man for me and that is all that matters. What you did today, it made me realize that I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” 

“So me helping that woman and her kids today, turned you on?” Clay asked incredulously. 

Emma laughed and said, “well kindness and being able to save me from any danger.” Emma adamantly replied and Clay chuckled. Emma kissed him again and nodded her head towards his bedroom. He looked at her and picked her up, wrapping her legs around his waist and carrying her to his bedroom. 

He laid her down and moved on top of her. 

“Hey, I want to spend the rest of my life with you too. I love you, Emma.” 

Emma smiled and blushed, “I love you too.” He kissed her sweetly before moving from her lips to her chin then her cheek and neck. Emma tried to push his shirt off his shoulders but he stopped her. 

“No, this is about you. I want to worship your body, the way it should be.” He moved back to her neck and began to kiss the naked skin of her chest. He pulled her clothed center to his clothed crotch and began to press against her. He pushed her shirt up her body and over her head. He kissed as much of her breast as he could get too before moving down her stomach. He pulled her up and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She moved on his lap and Clay groaned as he unsnapped her bra and let it fall. He laid her back down and pressed his entire body against her. Emma moaned as she felt him harden. Clay took her left breast into her hand and sucked on her nipple. 

“Oh, Clay!” Just before she was about to lose her mind, he switched to her right breast. He moved towards her waist and unbuttoned her jeans. He looked at her and waited for her to give him permission to remove them. Emma nodded and lifted her hips. He pulled the jeans down her long, gorgeous legs leaving her in just black lace panties. 

“Aw, baby, you are so beautiful.” Clay groaned and kissed her sweet center through her panties. Emma threw her head back and wrapped her fingers through his hair. After a few minutes of him making love to her with his mouth, she came with a scream. 

Clay moved back up her body and kissed her passionately on the mouth. Emma began pushing his shirt down his shoulders once again and this time he allowed her to remove it. She moved her hands down to his belt, removed it from his pant loops, then pushed his pants off his well built hips. Clay kicked them off, leaving both of them in their underwear. 

“Baby are you sure?” He whispered and Emma nodded. “I need you to say it.”

“Make love to me, Clay.” Their lips connected again and he removed her panties then his boxers. He positioned himself at her entrance and began sliding inside. Emma squeaked as his penis tore her hymen. Clay paused and looked at her. She was under him, panting, with her eyes closed.

“Are you okay?” He was worried that she was in pain because of him. 

“Yes, Clay, please!” She asked him as she began moving under him. After taking multiple controlled breaths, he thrust all the way inside her. Emma moaned loudly and wrapped her legs around his lower back. Clay stayed inside her for a minute so that she could adjust and then began long, deep thrusts that had them both desiring more. They moved together for 30 minutes, neither of them chasing a release, just wanting to be together. 

“Clay, please, harder.” Emma whimpered and Clay sped up his thrusts. “Clay, I’m close…”

“Let go, Em.” Clay slid his hand between them and used his thumb to stimulate her clit. She screamed his name as she came with a rush. 

Clay thrust several more times before he began to move away from her. She wrapped her legs back around him to keep him in place. “Emma, I’m not wearing a condom. I need to pull out.” 

Emma shook her head. “I want you to come in me. I’m on the pill, please.” All she wanted was to feel all of him inside her. Clay groaned and thrust as deep as he could inside her and came as he groaned her name. 

He removed himself from her and pulled her on top of his chest. He kissed her lightly before the settled into sleep.


	17. You Saved Me!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was in the middle of writing another chapter for this story but this prompt formed in my head and it wouldn’t leave until I wrote it! I hope you enjoy it and there will be a longer chapter coming in the next several days as well as an update on one of my other stories! I hope everyone will leave comments letting me know what you loved about the chapter and if you have any prompts for future chapters.

Clay Spenser was walking down the lonely sidewalk outside of the local Virginia Beach Mall. He had been thinking about his life up until that point. His father may be the reason that he doesn’t get on his dream team. Jason Hayes obviously hates him because of his father and what having Ash as a father has turned him into. He was glancing around the darkened sidewalk when he saw a young woman talking to a middle aged man. The woman did not look comfortable, so he moved closer to them. He was disgusted by what he heard!

“Come on, baby. Why don’t you come home with me?” The man sneered at the young woman, who was getting more uncomfortable by the second.

“Look Mr. I just want to leave the mall and go home, by myself.”

“Come on, baby. I saw the way you were looking at me when you were coming out of the lingerie store. So, why don’t you give me a fashion show?”

“I’d really like you to leave me alone.” The young woman was trying to move around the man, who blocked her path. 

He grabbed her arm and smirked before saying, “why don’t you let me fuck your tight little-” He was cut off by Clay removing his hand from her arm, twisting it, and slamming him face first into the cement wall behind the young woman.

“I believe she said that she wanted you to leave her alone. So maybe you should take the hint.” Clay growled out.

“This isn’t any of your business, boy!” The man grunted out and Clay spun him around, pinning him to the wall with his hand wrapped around his neck. 

“Actually it is. Are you okay?” Clay asked the woman standing behind him.

“Yes, thank you.” 

“What? Is she your girl? She’s a nice piece of ass, right? Good for a roll in the hay. Probably a screamer.” The man asked, chuckling.

“Actually, yes, she is, you asshole. And I am going to make this clear, if you ever talk about her like that or anyone other woman, I will find you and kill you. I suggest you leave.” Clay said to him with a stone face and a rough voice that made the man shrink back in fear. 

“Fine. Sorry.” Clay let the man go and he practically ran off. Clay turned to the young woman, who was trying to compose herself. 

“Ma’am are you okay?” Clay said as he moved closer to the woman. 

She shook her head, “yes, thank you for saving me. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t-” she stopped mid sentence as she thought about what could have happened if this man hadn’t come to her rescue. He moved closer to her and rubbed her back with one of his hands. The woman laid her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him. Clay was a little shocked but returned the embrace. “I’m Emma. What’s your name?” She finally said as she looked at him fully for the first time. 

“Clay. Can I walk you to your car?” Emma was so taken aback by his beautiful blue eyes and handsome facial features. “Emma?”

“Uh, yeah, sure. Thank you again.” Clay looked into this young woman’s face and noticed that she was gorgeous. Long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He shook his head and walked her to one of the remaining vehicles in the parking lot. He waited until she was in her car before stepping away, but she called to him. “Can I take you back to your house? It’s the least I could do.” 

“Yeah, if you don’t mind.” Clay climbed into Emma’s SUV and gave her directions to his apartment. She stopped outside the foyer of the apartment and parked the car. They looked at each other. “Do you want to come in?” Clay asked her.

Emma hesitated for a moment. Her dad was away on a mission, he wouldn’t be home until another day or two. Her mom and brother had gone on a week long hockey retreat, meaning that she was all alone at the house. Emma smiled, “I’d love too.”

Clay motioned to where she could park and waited until she got out of the car and they walked together into the building. Clay opened the door to his apartment and she walked in. She looked around and the scarcely decorated apartment and cardboard boxes scattered around the apartment. Clay moved to the kitchen and pulled a beer out of the refrigerator and turned to Emma. 

“You want anything?” 

“Do you have a bottle of water?” 

“Sure.” Clay reached for a bottle of water and then walked back over to the couch. He sat down and placed his beer on the coffee table before handing the bottle to her. Their hands touched and there was a spark of electricity between the two. They looked into each other's eyes and moments later, their lips touched. Clay put both of his hands on her face to deepen the kiss. Emma moaned as he tongue grazed her lips, asking to enter. She opened her mouth and sucked on his bottom lip. Clay and Emma worked her out of the leggings she had on underneath her dress and she climbed into his lap. Clay ran his hands up and down her thighs and she pressed herself against his hardened length. Emma began to unbuckle his pants, unzip them and pull his huge penis out of his boxers. As Emma’s hand touched his length, she groaned at the size of it. Clay ripped her panties from her body and settled her over him. Emma guided his length into her body and she moaned loudly as she began to stretch for the first time. He thrust all the way inside her and grunted at how tight she was around him. 

“Oh my god! You’re so…” Emma began but was silenced by a quick, lazy kiss on her lips.

“You’re so beautiful.” Clay whispered to her as he got up from the couch and walked her back onto the kitchen table. He began thrusting inside her as if she was the only thing that would keep him alive. Emma held onto him with everything she had. Emma screamed out his name as she came under him. She could feel Clay harden more (if that was even possible at this point) and then a rush of warmth spread through her body. He laid on top of her for a few moments before sliding off of her. Emma laid there for a moment, trying to catch her breath. Once she regained her senses, she looked at Clay, who was running his hand over his face. “I didn’t bring you here for this, you know that right? I feel like I took advantage of you.” 

Emma sat up quickly, ignoring the small pain near her vaginal area. “You didn’t. I know this wasn’t what you brought me here for. And I don’t feel like you took advantage of me.” She gave him a reassuring smile which he returned. 

Clay kissed her lightly before picking her up and carrying her to his bedroom. 

Clay&Emma----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Clay&Emma

Three weeks after that amazing night of passion, Clay walked into his new master chief’s house. He couldn’t believe it! Jason Hayes had chosen him to be on his team! This was Clay’s dream, but there was one thing missing and that was the only thing he thought about. The beautiful blonde haired, blue eyed girl he had met three weeks prior. After their night together, they said goodbye without sharing their phone numbers. He had to figure out a way to find her. As he was thinking of ways to find the gorgeous woman, Jason slapped him on the back. 

“Spenser, want a beer?”

“Sure, boss. You have a nice place.” 

“Thanks, my wife bought it while I was deployed probably a year after we got married.” Jason was telling him when they heard the door open. “Must be my daughter. Princess, come here, there is someone I want you to meet!” Jason called out and Clay heard shuffling behind him. 

“Yeah, daddy.” Clay knew that voice. It had called his name repeatedly during that one passion filled night. He slowly turned around and saw the woman he had been thinking about every second of every day since their encounter three weeks ago. 

Emma's eyes landed on Clay, who she thought she would never see again. She desperately wanted to kiss him, but it seems inappropriate with her father in the room. 

“Emma, this is Clay Spenser, he is Bravo’s rookie. Spenser this is my baby girl, Emma.” Jason introduced them.

Clay and Emma shook each other’s hands and exchanged pleasantries. Jason walked out of the room, leaving just Clay and Emma. 

“Hi.” Clay whispered and Emma blushed.

“Hey.”

“What are we going to do about what happened?” Clay asked, pulling her into the backyard so they would have some privacy. Emma led them to a bench where they could sit down. 

“That depends… we could forget about it, that would probably be the easiest thing to do.”

“I don’t want to forget about it. It’s the only thing I’ve thought about for the past 21 days, 14 hours, and 26 minutes.” 

Emma smiled at the fact that Clay knew right down to the minutes how long it had been since they saw each other last. “Then we shouldn’t forget about it.” They exchanged a smile, wondering what they would have to do in the upcoming months to get Jason to be okay with a relationship between his rookie and his baby.


	18. Retreat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning! This is a LONG chapter (just over 11,000 words) and it has taken weeks to complete. I want to thank my beta ididitjustforthis for helping with this chapter! I hope you all enjoy the fluff and smut in this chapter!

It was that time of the year again! Bravo Team had a week off rotation and the men would be taking their significant others on a couples retreat. The rigorous demands of their job didn’t leave a lot of time for intimate trips, especially when children were involved. Alone time was hard to come by. So once a year they’d carve out a week for a getaway, just for the adults and with plenty of room.

The members of Bravo, except for Clay, were gathered outside their cages. He was rummaging around inside his equipment locker while the others talked about the trip. 

“So, where did you say we were going?” Sonny asked, wanting to be sure of their plans. 

“Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. We are staying at the Cooper Ridge Lodge. Alana has everything worked out.” Jason explained to Sonny and he shook his head. “It’s supposed to be ‘beautiful’ and ‘romantic’.” 

Sonny shook his head in understanding before looking over at Clay. “Blondezilla, you bringing Stella?” 

Clay paused in his cage and turned to look at his brothers. “Stella and I broke up so I’m not going.” 

Their relationship had met its end a couple weeks ago and Clay had no interest in 3rd wheeling during a vacation.

“Sorry to hear that, Platinum Wonder.” 

“No worries, wasn’t meant to be. Why are you going on the couple’s retreat Sonny, it’s not like you have a girl or anything.” 

“No, but there are six rooms in this cabin so Davis and I are tagging along for the group rate.” 

“Well, I hope you guys have a good time.” Clay smirked before returning to his equipment. 

“Spenser, think you could do me a favor since you’re going to be home?” Jason got an idea. Mikey was staying with one of his friends while him and Alana were gone but that left Emma by herself. A fact neither of them were thrilled about. 

“Sure, boss, what’s up?” 

“Can Emma stay with you while we’re gone?” 

Ray, Sonny, Trent and Brock looked at Jason like he had lost his mind. He had just asked their handsome, newly single rookie if his beautiful daughter could spend five nights with him, alone, at his apartment. Clay’s eyes widened as well.

“Uh, yeah, sure.” 

Clay was shocked that his boss trusted him enough to stay with his baby girl while he was gone. 

“Great, thanks Spenser.” 

Later that day, Clay followed Jason back to his house to discuss the new game plan. The team was leaving the next morning and Jason had to tell Emma she was staying with Clay. They pulled into the driveway and were talking about their deployment next month when they entered the house and heard Alana and Emma arguing in the kitchen. They shared a look before walking in to see Emma leaning against the counter with an angry expression on her beautiful face. 

“Mom, I’m 18! I don’t need a babysitter!”

Alana threw her hands up in a placating manner before calmly explaining her reasoning to her daughter. 

“I know you’re considered an adult now, Emma. But all your friends and their families are busy and the main network of people we rely on will be out of town as well. If it were only for a night or two then it wouldn’t be an issue but we’re going to be gone for a week. Your father and I would feel much more comfortable knowing you had someone nearby if something were to happen.”

Emma rolled her eyes at this statement but agreed knowing it was a battle she wouldn’t win. “Fine. Which of the old ladies on the block am I going to be staying with? I’d like to know how many cat figurines I’m going to be stuck dusting.”

“Actually Em, you’re staying with Spenser.” Jason finally made their presence known. Emma spun around and looked at them with wide eyes. 

“You mean while you guys are gone, I’m going to be alone with him?” Emma pointed at Clay, who blushed and smirked. 

Jason rolled his eyes. “Yes.” 

Emma sent Clay a dazzling smile before eagerly addressing her parents. “You guys aren’t gone yet? Aren’t you supposed to be leaving?” 

“Not until tomorrow morning.” Alana raised her eyebrow at the sudden change in demeanor. 

“I better go pack! Clay, would you come with me? We need to talk about what we’re going to do this week so I know what to pack.” She batted her eyelashes and waited patiently for his answer. 

“Uh…sure, Em.” He looked hesitantly towards Jason and Alana, but after hearing no protests he moved behind her up the stairs and into her bedroom where she closed and locked the door. 

“You sure it’s okay to lock your door with me here?” Clay was nervous, especially because of the way she acted downstairs. Seeing his discomfort, Emma rolled her eyes and laughed. 

“Yes, Clay, it’s fine. Besides it’s not like we’re going to do anything. That performance was a little payback for mom and dad. Give me some credit.” Emma gave him a sincere smile and he sighed in relief. “And thank you for letting me stay with you this week. I really appreciate it.” 

“It’s no problem. I think we’re going to have a good time. What would you like to do this week?” 

“Doesn’t matter. You know that you don’t have to babysit me the entire week, right? I can come over here a few nights if you want to be alone with your girlfriend. I don’t want to cause any problems between you and her.” Emma turned towards her closet and began to pack her bags. He sat down in the chair in front of her vanity and watched her. 

“That’s not going to be an issue seeing as there’s no longer a girlfriend.” He shrugged. “Besides, now we get a chance to get to know each other better.” 

Emma smiled to herself before clearing her throat and turning to him with a straight face, “I’d like that.” 

“Why don’t I come by here in the morning, say around 0800 and grab you for breakfast? What time are the guys leaving?” 

“0600.” 

“So, how about instead of 0800, I’ll pick you up at 0600?” Emma glared at him causing him to laugh. “0700?”

“That’s better.” 

Clay&Emma----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Clay&Emma

At 0700 on the dot, Clay knocked on the door of the Hayes house. Moments later, Emma Hayes appeared with a suitcase and pillow in hand. 

“I’m ready.” She stated as she locked the door and he grabbed her bags and pillow from her. She was going to protest until he placed her bags in the back of his truck and opened the door for her. She smiled and slipped into the passenger side. 

Fifteen minutes later Clay and Emma pulled up to the Sunnyside Cafe & Restaurant. He opened the door for her and they walked into the cafe, seating themselves at an empty table. Clay ordered a Western Omelet and a cup of coffee. Emma ordered Fresh Blueberry Pancakes, one scrambled egg and orange juice. 

They spent the next half hour enjoying food and conversation before Clay stopped mid-sentence. 

“Clay? What’s wrong?” 

“My ex just walked in.” 

“Are you ready to leave?” Emma asked, not wanting him to be uncomfortable. Clay nodded and threw some bills on the table for both the check and the tip. He helped Emma out of her chair and they began walking towards the door. At that moment Stella glanced in their direction, catching sight of them. 

“Hello, Clay.” 

“Stella.” His tone was cordial but he noticed that she kept glancing at Emma, curious and expectant. “This is Emma.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Emma held out her hand. 

“You too.” Stella shook her hand lightly. The conversation lapsed after the short introduction but her eyes continued darting skeptically back and forth between them.

“We should get going, Em and get your stuff to the apartment.” Clay broke the silence and she nodded quickly in agreement. “Stella.”

“Clay.” Stella reluctantly turned back to the line while Emma and Clay exited the cafe. 

“So, what do you want to do?” Emma asked as they drove to his apartment. 

“It’s the holidays, so there’s probably a movie marathon we can catch. How does that sound?” 

“Yeah! That would be awesome!” Emma was so excited, it had been forever since she had a movie marathon. 

“Since it’s Christmastime, why don’t we watch Christmas movies?” Clay asked.

“Hallmark okay?” 

“Perfect, I heard they are playing a 24 hour marathon with no commercials.” 

“And you can help me decorate my tree.” 

She looked at him in surprise.

“It’s December 22nd.”

“Yeah, but I haven’t really been in the Christmas mood since Stella and I broke it off.” Clay said, giving her a small smile before turning his attention back to the road.

Emma contemplated that for a second and quickly decided that she was going to give him the greatest Christmas ever. “Well, I guess we’re just going to have to do something about that. You have supplies?”

“Yeah, trees, ornaments, wreathes, the works.”

“Where?”

“Storage.”

“What are we waiting for?” 

They drove to his storage unit and Emma carried out boxes of decorations while Clay got the 6 foot tall tree and put it in the back of his truck. They were on their way towards his apartment a short time later and each carried their respective haul into the apartment. Emma was surprised as she looked around his apartment, noticing how unusually clean it was for a bachelor. 

“Where do you want the tree?” Clay asked. Emma looked at him, shocked.

“You’re asking me?” 

“Yeah, decorating isn’t exactly one of my strengths.” He waved his arms around at the near barebones apartment. “I bought all of this stuff because I thought that Stella and I would be celebrating Christmas together.”

Emma’s heart broke for Clay. Her dad had let bits and pieces of his past slip here and there. She knew that the way he grew up meant he couldn’t celebrate Christmas when he was a child so she wanted this one to be extra special for him. 

She straightened up and placed her hands on her hips as she surveyed the apartment. When Emma settled on the spot she liked she pointed definitively towards it.

“I think it would look great in the corner near the window and the fireplace.”

“Perfect.” Clay pulled the tree from the box and placed it in the spot where she had suggested. Emma moved over to the couch and turned the television to the Hallmark channel. She moved through the television guide and squealed, bringing Clays attention to her.

“Are you okay, Em?”

“They’re playing my favorite movies!” She practically jumped up and down, clapping her hands. 

Clay chuckled at her enthusiasm. 

“Which movies?”

“Single Santa Seeks Mrs. Claus comes on next followed by Meet the Santas, A Christmas Detour, A December Bride, and then the greatest Christmas movie of all time, The Christmas Card, A Veteran’s Christmas, Operation Christmas, Home for Christmas Day, and of course a movie that I love so much, A Christmas Visitor.” 

“I’ve never seen them.” 

Emma’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped open. “We are definitely watching them during the decorating.” 

With that, they began unpacking the boxes. Within an hour, everything was out and Emma was trying to decide how they should decorate the tree. “Clay, do you think there should be a theme?” She turned in time to see Clay taking a piece of Mistletoe out of the box behind her and turning to her with it in hand. Emma looked down at the piece of greenery then back to his eyes. 

“I, uh, I was going to hang it outside the door.” He stumbled to say, blushing. He moved the hand with the sprig above them to point at the door. 

“Good idea.” Emma looked up at the Mistletoe hanging from his fingers between them. Clay noticed that he had moved the plant without meaning too. 

“It is a tradition.” Emma stated calmly. Clay swallowed and nodded once before moving slowly towards her. Their lips met for a brief, simple kiss before they broke apart. 

Clay cleared his throat before moving towards the door to hang it up. Emma shuttered from the sparks she felt from the small kiss. She took a deep breath to center herself and continue with what she was doing.

“So, do you want a theme?” Emma asked, watching him hang the Mistletoe.

“Sure, what do you think?” 

“Well, you have a lot of blue, white, and silver so I’m thinking we go with that.” Emma turned around and began to put the ornaments on the tree. He watched her as she placed each one with care and precision. When Emma started having trouble reaching the branches around the top, Clay moved to help her. 

“Can I help you with that?” He murmured from behind her, his chest lightly pressed to her back. He felt her shiver.

“Yes, please.” She turned her head to the side, holding the delicate hook attached to the ornament between her fingers for him. Clays reached around her shoulder, his fingers brushing hers as he gently grasped it. Emma revelled in the feel of him. 

Three hours later, the only thing left for decorating was putting the tree topper on the tree. “Would you like to do the honor?” She held the star out to him.

“Why don’t we do it together?” They shared a smile before Clay took her hand and they placed the star on the tree. Clay moved to close the curtains, then flicked the lights off. Emma turned on the tree and they stood together, taking in their masterpiece. “It’s beautiful!” 

“Yes, it is.” Clay wrapped his warm hand around hers and squeezed in gratitude. He was glad she was there to share this with him. “You want to sit and watch that marathon?”

“Sure, it’s about lunchtime though. Why don’t we order some pizza?” 

“Sounds good. I’ll order it.” Clay moved towards the kitchen, grabbed the phone and called in the order. Twenty minutes later, he was grabbing the freshly delivered pizza and walking back over the couch with the food and drinks. 

“The Christmas Card is coming on! It’s the greatest Christmas movie ever.” 

“What’s it about?”

“A woman sends Christmas Cards overseas from a smalltown and a soldier receives it. One of the men under him is from the town it came from and gets killed. He goes to the town to pay his respects to the family and meets the woman who sent the card. It’s a little sappy but beautiful.” 

Hours later, they were snuggled together watching Operation Christmas. Emma had gotten cold a couple hours earlier and Clay pulled her closer to stave off the chill. She laid her head down on his chest as he pulled the blanket snug around her. They had shifted until they were laying across the couch with Emma resting against him. 

“Aren’t these movies the greatest?” Emma asked softly as they watched the end where the soldier’s overseas sang Silent Night. 

“They are pretty good for romance movies.” 

Keeping an arm around Emma so he didn’t displace her, Clay reached for the remote and switched off the television before looking down at her.

“Are you ready to go to bed? You can take my room. I’ll sleep on the couch while you’re here.”

“Why don’t you and I just share the bed?” She asked tentatively, fiddling with the buttons on his shirt. 

Clay stilled her hand with his and tilted his head until she met his eyes. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” 

They moved from the couch to his bedroom and got changed for bed. Emma climbed in on the left side while Clay situated himself on the right and turned off the bedside lamp.

“Goodnight, Emma.”

“Night, Clay.” 

Clay&Emma----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Clay&Emma

The next morning Emma woke up to a warm, heavy arm draped across her stomach. She rolled and collided with Clay’s hard, muscular chest. The movement caused Clay to stir. 

“Morning, Em.”

“Good morning.” She turned onto her stomach and laid her head against his shoulder, looking up at him. 

“What do you want to do today?” Clay yawned, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes before scrubbing his hand across his beard.

“I don’t care.” She lifted one shoulder. “What about just staying in?”

“Could work. Are we watching Christmas Movies again?” 

“No, I was thinking we could get to know each other better.” 

“How?”

“A game, maybe? 20 Questions?”

“Sure, you start.”

Emma contemplated starting with something easy like ‘what’s your favorite color’ or ‘what’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten’. But seeing as she was currently lazing in bed with Clay like it was the most natural thing in the world, she didn’t think there was any harm in asking questions that actually mattered. They only had so much time until the little bubble they had constructed since stepping into his apartment popped. 

“Can you tell me one thing that you’ve never told anyone else?”

Clay thought carefully for a moment before answering honestly. 

“Sometimes, I’m afraid I’m not good enough.” 

“What do you mean?” Emma’s brows scrunched in concern. “At work?” 

Clay sighed, rolling onto his back. “No, I feel like I’m not good enough for anyone. To have someone in my life. I mean I get it. I have a dangerous job and I’m not here half the time. But sometimes I wonder if I could make it work even if I was here.” 

Emma rose up on her elbows and leaned over him to break his staring contest with the ceiling.

“You are such a great guy, Clay. You are more than good enough. There’s not a single person on the team or in our families that don’t love having you around. It is a hard life, we both know that. But just because you stumbled upon the wrong people so far doesn’t mean the right one isn’t out there. You’re going to find someone, Clay. I promise.” 

Emma’s face was so earnest and her tone so certain that he couldn’t help but believe her. 

“Thanks, Em.”

She nodded, giving him a smile before sinking back down on the bed next to him and patting his chest. “Your turn.”

“I think from the speech you just gave me I can guess the answer, but do you believe in true love?” 

“I do.” Emma confirmed with a little laugh. “What about women? What are you attracted to?” 

Clay chuckled. “Other than the obvious?”

Emma rolled her eyes. 

“I like when women are intelligent and mature. Caring and loving. Sensitive and strong. What about you? What do you think you want?”

“I like compassionate, honorable, strong, courageous men. Along with the obvious. What’s your type?”

“Well I used to like brown hair, brown eyed women but every one of them I’ve dated has ended in disaster so I’m going with the stereotypical male answer: blonde hair, blue eyes, sexy smile. What about you?” 

“Blonde hair, blue eyes, rough exterior.” They shared a smile at their similar descriptions, but there was an undercurrent as both realized they had described each other. Before either of them could say anything else, Emma’s phone rang. 

She moved off the bed to find her purse. It was a phone call from her dad. 

“Hey daddy.” 

“Hey, princess. How is Spenser treating you?” 

“He is treating me great, daddy. How’s the trip?”

“Great! Having a lot of fun. Are you having fun with Spenser?”

Emma thought back to yesterday, them decorating together, kissing, laying together on the couch watching movies and then this morning in bed. “Yeah, daddy. Time of my life.” 

“That’s good, pumpkin. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Okay, I love you.”

“I love you too.” 

Clay walked into the living room now fully dressed as she hung up. “Who was that?”

“Dad, he wanted to check on us?” 

“Ok. What do you want to do today since we got out of bed?”

“Can we go ice skating?” 

“Of course, do you have skates?”

“Yeah, at home.” 

“Then get dressed and we’ll head to the skating rink.” Emma wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him on the cheek, and running into his bedroom to shower and change. 

Thirty minutes later, Emma was bundled, ready to go as Clay ushered her out the door. He placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her to his truck. They left for her house, where she ran in and got her skates. Within an hour of making the decision, they were pulling up to the skating rink and Clay was leading them into the building. 

After putting on their respective skates they began to glide around the rink. Clay and Emma held hands to help each other keep their balance on the slippery surface. But taking a corner too fast would’ve had Emma landing on her butt if it wasn’t for Clay’s quick reflexes. He wrapped his arm around her waist and grabbed the railing to keep them both from falling. 

“Wow, thanks for the save.”

“No problem. You okay?”

“Yeah.” Emma grasped his biceps as she straightened up. She looked up at him, admiring the feeling of the rippling muscles under her hands. He helped steady her and they took off again. 

Two hours and a round of hot chocolate later, they decided it was time to go back to Clay’s apartment. Emma and Clay were laughing when she heard someone call her name. She turned and was met with the guy she had been seeing on and off a couple months ago. She found him kissing the sluttiest girl in school and promptly dumped him in front of the entire student body. 

“Emma, baby, what are you doing here? You said it would be a cold day in hell before we saw each other again.”

“Skating.” She deadpanned at the question. “We were having fun until you decided to ruin it.” She motioned to Clay, who was standing as straight as a board. 

“So, you were upset about me making out with someone but here you are, on a date with this asshole.” 

Clay went to snatch the boy by his collar, but Emma stopped him. 

“Look, we were never dating and you are the reason why. And for your information, Clay isn’t an asshole, unlike you.” She grabbed Clay’s hand and they began walking towards his truck. 

Not realizing the bear he was poking, the boy followed behind them, running his mouth. 

“You know, I wouldn’t have kissed the school whore if you would have given me a little. I mean, you seem to be giving it up to him,” he pointed at Clay, “because that’s the only reason an older guy would be with you.” 

Emma wasn’t fast enough to stop Clay this time. His hands fisted into the front of the guy's shirt, pulling him clear off the ground. 

“Listen to me you little prick, maybe you would’ve had a better chance if you weren’t such an asshole. But seeing as I don’t think you’re capable of achieving that I’ll give you a piece of advice instead. Leave. Emma. Alone. Are we clear?” The guy rapidly nodded as he struggled to break Clays ironclad grasp on him. Clay dropped him and went back to Emma, who couldn’t hold back the lustful expression on her face. He opened the door for her to climb in before moving around and doing the same.

He practiced his box breathing for a moment to calm down before looking at her in the passenger seat.

“Emma, I can’t believe you dated that guy.”

“First of all, I didn’t date him. I went out with him once. And he wasn’t as sleazy then.”

“Whatever you say, Em.” He started up the truck. “Why don’t we go back to the apartment?”

“Sound’s good but let’s stop at the grocery store. I’ll make us a small dinner tonight.” 

“Works for me.”

Twenty minutes later, they pulled up to the grocery store and proceeded to walk through the aisles. Emma and Clay were discussing what to eat when a elderly couple walked up to them. 

“Excuse me, I hate to interrupt but I couldn’t resist coming over and saying that the two of you make such an adorable couple.” The woman smiled at them. Emma blushed, not able to bring herself to look at Clay. He stuttered for a moment, knowing he should correct her, but seeing the look on the woman’s face, Clay couldn’t bring himself to tell her she was wrong. A part of him almost didn’t want to either. 

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“She seems like a good one son, you should hold on to her.” The older man told him as he wrapped his arm around the woman. 

Clay did the same with Emma and looked at the man, “I intend to hold onto her for as long as I can.” 

The older couple moved on and Clay removed his arm from her. They went on through the store with no other interruptions. Neither of them mentioned what had happened, not wanting to think about what it meant. Or what they wanted it to mean. 

They entered his apartment an hour later. Clay went into his bedroom and changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt while Emma began preparing their meal for dinner. An hour and a half later, Emma placed two plates of food on the table and they ate in comfortable silence. 

“So, do you want to continue our game from this morning?” Emma asked between bits. 

Clay nodded, “Sure. Would you like to start?”

“Okay. What’s one of the most dangerous things you’ve ever done?”

Clay paused for a second and looked at her.

“That you can tell me about.” She elaborated with an eye roll. 

“I jumped 70 feet off of a burning oil rig.” He replied as if it was nothing. Emma choked on her food.

“You jumped 70 feet off of a burning oil rig?” She exclaimed with wide eyes.

“Well to be fair I was trapped and it was the only way down. And there were people trying to kill me.”

Emma opened her mouth repeatedly but she couldn’t speak. Not that he could tell her much more than that anyways.

“What’s your greatest fantasy?” Clay asked and he watched Emma’s face turn red. “Doesn’t have to be a sexual fantasy.” 

“Singing at the Grand Ole Opry and then having Reba McEntire and Martina McBride ask me if I want to be a member.”

“That is a great fantasy, Em.” 

“What about you? Your biggest fantasy?”

‘You under me.’ Clay thought. He was jarred by the image his mind had conjured and then mentally kicked himself for thinking about her like that. “Being promoted to Master Chief and leading my own team.” 

Emma nodded in understanding, though in her opinion it was something he could and would definitely achieve. 

“So, tomorrow is Christmas Eve. What do you want to do?” 

“Well… I actually got you a Christmas present, but it’s at my house.”

“You got me a present?”

“Yeah, I got everyone on Bravo a present.” Emma stood up from the table and placed her plate in the sink. 

Clay’s mind raced at her statement. ‘She got me a gift? Of course she did. She’s thoughtful and sensitive. But what can I give her?’ He thought about the bracelet he’d gotten for Stella before they went their separate ways, but it didn’t feel right giving it to her. Or anyone. He’d either trade it in for something else or get his money back entirely to purchase Emma a gift.

“I’m a little tired. I think I’m gonna go to bed.” Emma announced to him after they finished the dishes. 

“Yeah. I’m going to hop in the shower and then I’ll join you.”

“Okay.” Emma replied as she walked into his bedroom to change into her night clothes. She walked into his closet just in case he came into the room from his shower. She had just taken off her top and unclasped her bra when she heard a sharp intake of breath.

“I’m sorry.” Clay abruptly spun away from her. 

“No, no, it’s fine.” She quickly put her sleep top on and turned around to face him. “I can wait until you’re in bed if you want.”

“No! I’ll stay right where I am if you want to finish.” 

Emma hesitated for a moment and then took off her pants. She slipped into her sleep shorts and told him he could turn around. They avoided making eye contact. Emma slipped into the bed and laid quietly while he finished his bathroom routine. 

Clay moved into his bedroom and looked at the beautiful girl resting there, wrapped in his covers and snuggled into the bed. ‘I am in so much trouble’. He climbed in beside her and they drifted soundly to sleep. During the night, they managed to move towards each other in their sleep as if the pull between them couldn’t be fought even when they were dreaming. 

Clay&Emma----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Clay&Emma

Waking up again with Emma in his arms, he relished the warm feeling of her next to him. 

“Merry Christmas Eve.” Clay whispered as he placed a light kiss to her head. Emma began to stir and stretch in his arms. 

“Merry Christmas Eve.” She whispered back and snuggled into his side. “What do you want to do today?”

“Well… everyone has told me what a beautiful voice you have, but I have yet to experience it myself. So… what if we go to one of the local karaoke clubs tonight?” Clay saw Emma’s face light up and he smirked, knowing that he had the right idea. 

“I would love to! How about walking around town to look at the Christmas lights afterwards?”

“Whatever you want, Emmie.”

“So what do we do until tonight?” Emma’s question was perfectly innocent, but Clay’s mind went deep into the gutter. He cleared his throat to clear his thoughts. 

“We could just do what we were going to do yesterday… stay in bed.” 

“Let’s play a game.” Emma insisted.

“20 Questions, again?”

“No, I was thinking of something different. Never Have I Ever.”

“Oh, that’s a dangerous game.”

“Come on, Spenser. You aren’t scared are you?”

“Me? Scared.” Clay rolled over and opened his nightstand. He pulled out a bag of hersey’s kisses. 

“Fine, you go first.”

“Never have I ever received a lap dance.” Clay’s eyes widened as a surprised laugh bubbled out of his mouth. He reached to take a hersey’s kiss from the bag. 

“So, this is how we are playing this game, huh.” He tossed the hersey’s kiss in the air and caught it in his mouth. “Never have I ever shaved or waxed my privates.”

Emma’s eyes widened and she blushed, beet red. She hesitated for a moment before reaching for the chocolate morsel, unwrapping it and tossing it in the air. She caught it in her mouth just as easily as he did. “You are so going to get it. Never have I ever had a threesome.”

Clay closed his eyes before reaching for a hershey's kiss. 

“So, am I getting the backstory to this or what?”

Clay sighed, “It was while I was in BUD/S.”

“Two women I’m assuming.” 

“Definitely. Let’s just move on.” He felt uncomfortable talking to her about this. He didn’t want her to think that he was just interested in sex. “Never have I ever watched Magic Mike.”

“That is so not fair! You know that every teenage girl has seen Magic Mike.” Emma protested while Clay doubled over in laughter. “Never have I ever slept with a stranger.” 

Clay rolled his eyes but he did the ritual and stared at her, “Never have I ever been seen naked by a man.” 

Emma just looked at him. “In what context?”

“Sexually.”

Emma sat still for a moment not really knowing what to say, “Never have I ever made love to someone.”

Clay put the bag of hersey’s kisses on the nightstand and pulled Emma into his arms. “Em, are you saying you’re a-”

“Virgin, yes. You aren’t going to laugh are you?”

“No! No, of course not, I actually… find that-”

“Weird? Embarrassing? Scary?”

“Amazing.” He whispered as she finally met his eyes. “I’m assuming that you are waiting for the right person to come along.”

“Well, yes but I mean you’ve met my family! No man in his right mind would want to date me because of them! I mean on my first date, dad, Uncle Brock, and Uncle Trent followed us in a vehicle while Uncle Adam and Metal watched us in the restaurant, Uncle Sonny followed us into the movie theater, and Uncle Ray and Uncle Nate were hiding in the bushes while we walked through the park!” 

Clay burst out in laughter, imagining exactly what she had just described. 

Still smiling, he responded to Emma with genuine admiration. “I think the fact that you are a virgin is commendable because you didn’t fold to peer pressure. It means something to you, so it’s good that you’re taking care to not do anything you might regret.” 

“Seems like you are talking from experience.”

Clay laid back down on the bed with Emma in his arms. “I was 15 and she was older than me. And looking back, I wish my first time was something that I could treasure. I hope yours will be.” 

Emma smiled and leaned forward, kissing the corner of his mouth before resting her head on his shoulder.

“It’s still kind of early, what do you say about us taking a nap? I have a feeling we'll be up late tonight.” Clay asked and she agreed, snuggling further into him. His face was tingling from the kiss and it took all of his strength not to crash their lips together. 

“Mmmm. Thank you.” She whispered as she drifted off. Clay laid there for a few moments just staring at her until he held her tighter and drifted off as well. 

Several hours later, Clay and Emma finally emerged from the apartment. Clay told her about a quaint little bar that does karaoke on Friday nights. It was a 30 minute drive, but well worth it whenever they got into the bar. It was not too crowded and Emma went to the DJ to sign up for the karaoke. Clay went to the bar and ordered a beer and a soda. He found a table near the stage and Emma joined him a few minutes later. 

“What song did you pick?”

“Santa Baby.” She gave him a cheeky smile. Before Clay had the chance to reply, the DJ was calling her up onto the stage. She took a sip of her drink before taking center stage where she grabbed the microphone from the stand. The music to Santa Baby by Eartha Kitt began to radiate out of the speakers. 

‘Santa baby, just slip a sable under the tree for me  
Been an awful good girl  
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight’

Emma moved around the stage as she sang, occasionally making eye contact with Clay. 

‘Santa baby, a '54 convertible too, light blue  
I'll wait up for you, dear  
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight’

She moved from the stage and walked over to Clay. She took the cap off of his head and put it on. 

‘Think of all the fun I've missed  
Think of all the fellas that I haven't kissed  
Next year, I could be just as good  
If you check off my Christmas list’

She moved around the bar, interacting with the customers as she sang. 

‘Santa baby, I want a yacht and really that's not a lot  
Been an angel all year  
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight

Santa honey, one little thing I really need, the deed  
To a platinum mine  
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight

Santa cutie, and fill my stocking with a duplex and checks  
Sign your "X" on the line  
Santa cutie, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Come and trim my Christmas tree  
With some decorations bought at Tiffany  
I really do believe in you  
Let's see if you believe in me’

As she rounded the last verse, she moved back to Clay who had not taken his eyes off her since she began to sing. She sat down in his lap and placed the cap back onto his head.

‘Santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing, a ring  
I don't mean on the phone  
Santa baby, so hurry down my chimney tonight  
Hurry down the chimney tonight  
Hurry, tonight’

As the last note played, there was an eruption of applause. 

“Emma Hayes, that was amazing.”

“You really liked it?”

“100%.” 

They stayed for another hour, watching and listening to others perform and having food. To Clay, none of them would ever be as good as Emma. When the bar grew to be too crowded, they both decided they wanted to leave and look at the Christmas lights. They went to the Holiday Lights at the Beach. They drove down and Emma was fixated on the light show while Clay could only look at her. 

She was so beautiful and genuine. 

‘I am in so much trouble’ he thought as his heart skipped a beat as he watched her reactions to the lights. 

They looked at the lights for over an hour before returning to his apartment. The entire drive back, the only thing Emma could think about was him. The way he moves, the way he walks, talks, acts, how caring he was. She had never met anyone like him and she had the feeling that she never would again. ‘I am in so much trouble’. 

“Do you mind if we make a detour and stop by the house and grab your present?”

“Sure, yeah, no problem.” Clay drove them to the Hayes’ residence. He pulled into the driveway and waited in the truck while Emma went inside. A few minutes later, Emma came out with a large box carefully wrapped with paper depicting an American flag and soldier silhouette. Clay chuckled as she climbed in the truck. “Nice wrapping paper.”

“Thanks. This is what I wrap all of Bravo’s presents in.” 

They returned to the apartment and began talking about what they would do tomorrow.

“So, what do you want to do with our last night together?” Emma inquired as she felt Clay place his hand on the small of her back. 

“Doesn’t matter, what do you want to do?”

Emma thought for a moment as Clay unlocked the door. “What if I could have a nice Christmas dinner and afterwards we could make cookies together?”

“Cookie’s sound good but be gentle with me, it’s my first time.” Clay grinned. 

Emma joked back, “I promise we’ll go slow and easy.”

The two entered the apartment and removed their layers before settling in.

“You want to curl up on the couch?” 

“Sure. We can continue our game from earlier.”

“If we continue that game, I’m going to have to be drunk for it.” Clay joked.

Emma shrugged.

“Why don’t we turn it into a drinking game?”

“Because you aren’t 21 and Jason would kill me.”

“Dad doesn’t have to know.” She wiggled her eyebrows and walked into the kitchen, grabbing two beers and moving back to the couch. 

“Em, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Just shut up, Spenser and take the beer.” She pushed him down on the couch and sat the beers on the coffee table. He looked shocked before smirking and pulling her down onto his lap. Emma squealed and she landed on him with a giggle. She placed her hands on his neck and looked into his ocean blue eyes. They stared at each other without saying a word. 

“I’m going to miss you.” Clay whispered to her.

She smiled, “I’m going to miss you, too. I’m going to be cold at night without my human heating blanket.” 

Clay’s gaze flickered between her eyes and her lips.

“I don’t know how I’m going to sleep without you.” He pulled her face down to his and their lips met in a passionate, fiery kiss. Emma was shocked for a few seconds before she returned his embrace. They kissed until both needed breath and pulled away panting. 

Clay saw the stricken look on Emma’s face and thinking he had read the situation wrong, he began to apologize. “Em, I’m so sorry… I…” 

Emma cut him off with another kiss. This one was light and didn’t last but a few seconds. “It’s okay.”

“So… I didn’t ruin whatever we have going on by kissing you?” He wanted to make sure that he hadn’t scared her or made her nervous. 

“Absolutely not. In fact, how about we make our Christmas dinner our first date?” She lightly probed, hoping that he would say yes.

“I’d love to.” Emma slipped off his lap, grabbed the two beers and they began their game from earlier that day. Three hours later, Emma was a bit tipsy after they had turned Never Have I Never into a drinking game. She was curled against him with her head on his chest. 

“I think it’s time for bed, Emmie.” 

Emma attempted to push herself up before falling back into Clay. “I think you’re going to have to carry me.” She giggled.

Clay chuckled before taking her into his arms and lifting her off the couch while he simultaneously got up. Emma wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her bridal style towards his bedroom. 

“You’re so strong. It’s sexy.” She murmured as she buried her face in his neck. “And I love your beard.” 

Clay felt a blush creep up his face. He sat her on the bed and began removing her shoes and socks. “Em, you need help changing for bed?” Emma grumbled something incoherent and Clay took that as a yes. He began removing her top, trying not to look at her perfect chest and stomach. 

She leaned forward and caught his lips. He allowed her to control the kiss until he felt her hands go under his shirt. 

“Wait, Em. If we do this I want you to be sober and alert. I am not taking advantage of you.” 

Emma started to protest but fell back onto the bed, asleep. He grabbed one of his t-shirts out of his dresser and slipped it over her head. He reached behind her back and unclipped her bra, letting it slide down her arms and off her chest before he placed her arms in the sleeves. He pulled her over to the edge of the bed and pulled the t-shirt down to cover her to mid-thigh. He reached under the shirt and began unbuttoning to jeans and pulling them down her gorgeous legs. He pulled her up from the bed, leaning her against his chest before pulling the sheets back and placing her under them. He took off his shirt and pants before climbing into bed with Emma. 

Clay&Emma----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Clay&Emma

Christmas morning came and found them curled up together. Emma woke first, snuggling deeper into Clay’s embrace. 

Clay began to stir, “Merry Christmas, beautiful.”

“Merry Christmas, handsome.” 

“Would you like to exchange presents now or later?”

“You got me a present?” 

“Of course I did.” Clay reached over to his nightstand and pulled out two pieces of paper, then handed them to her. She looked at him before gasping at what the gift was. There were two tickets to the Spring Country Festival in Virginia Beach on March 15. According to the tickets, artists include Cole Swindell, Chris Young, Lee Brice, Justin Moore, Brantley Gilbert, Kane Brown, Granger Smith, Chase Rice, and Kip Moore. 

“Oh my god, Clay! This is the greatest present ever! I’m so excited! You have to come with me, I promise you will love it.” 

“Of course, baby. Whatever you want.” They kissed momentarily before Emma got up from the bed and walked into the living room to retrieve his present. She was nervous, not sure that his present was as good as the one he gave her. She returned to bedroom and climbed in beside him, handing the present to him. She bit her lip as she waited for him to unwrap it. 

Clay noticed that his present was heavy. He opened the gift and was shocked. It was a shadow box. It had a picture of him in uniform, the SEAL trident, his rank and years of service. It also held the ribbons and medals that he had received during his service in the Navy: one silver star, four bronze stars, two purple hearts, etc. Clay just looked at the gift, not saying anything.

“You don’t like it?” 

“No, no, that’s not it. I love it, Em, really I do. I just… no one has ever given me something like this before. It means a lot, Emma.” 

“I’m glad you like it.” They shared another sweet kiss. 

“Let’s stay in today. We can get up and make those cookies we were talking about last night.”

“Great idea! Let’s get up, shower, and get to cooking.” Emma jumped up from the bed and practically ran into the bathroom. Clay chuckled and moved from the bed. He took his shadow box and began looking around the room, trying to find the perfect spot for his present. He moved out of the bedroom and into the living room, trying to find the ideal location. He placed it on the wall between his bedroom door and the television. He hung the shadow box easily and stepped back to look at his work. Emma emerged from the bedroom with her hair and body wrapped in a towel. 

“What are you looking at?” She questioned and then saw the shadow box on the wall. She smiled and noticed that he put it in the one place that would draw the attention of anyone entering the apartment. “I see you didn’t waste anytime.” 

“Yeah, it's the greatest gift I’ve ever received. And I decided on this spot because this is the first place everyone looks coming into the apartment.” He explained and Emma pulled him towards her. She cupped the back of his neck with her left hand and pulled him into a full open-mouthed kiss. Clay grabbed her hips and backed her into the door jam. She wrapped her right arm around his neck and Clay removed the towel from her head, letting it fall onto the ground. The kiss grew rough and passionate as Clay placed his hands on her face and neck, controlling the deep, tongue-penetrating kiss. They pulled away, both breathless. 

Clay moved his head to kiss her neck and Emma ran her hands over his chest. She began lifting his t-shirt, but Clay stopped her by capturing her hands. “I need to get a shower and you should get dressed. We have cookies to bake, don’t we.” 

He pulled away from her and moved into the bathroom, trying to control the urge he had to pick her up, wrap her legs around his waist, and take her against the door. ‘No, I am not going to let my hormones make decisions for me and Emma, especially about sex. I am not going to force her into anything physical.’

Emma blushed with embarrassment. She opened herself up to him and he shut her down. ‘He doesn’t want me. God, I feel so stupid.’ She took some deep breaths to compose herself before getting dressed. 

She was in the kitchen as Clay emerged, freshly showered and dressed. He smiled at her as he saw how comfortable she was in his kitchen. He walked behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed her on the head. 

“What do I need to get out for you?” Clay whispered against her hair. 

“Butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, all purpose flour, and baking powder.” Emma directed a little more sternly than she meant too. 

Clay narrowed his eyes in confusion but brushed it off and began pulling the ingredients out of the cabinets and refrigerator. He placed them in front of her and for the next hour, they mixed the ingredients, placed the cookie dough on the baking sheets and placed them into the oven. Clay spent the entire time trying to figure out Emma’s mood change. She was short with her responses to him. As Emma pulled the last batch of cookies from the oven to cool before they added the toppings, Clay pulled her towards him.

“What’s wrong?” 

“What do you mean? Nothings wrong.” She deflected but Clay wasn’t letting her off that easily. 

“You aren’t nearly as cheerful and jolly as you were this morning. Baby, tell me.”

“I don’t know. Earlier when we were kissing you just stopped all the sudden. It made me think that…”

He cut her off with a brazen kiss that left her weak in the knees. “Never think that I don’t want you. Because from the moment we started to get to know each other better, the only thing I’ve wanted to do was kiss you, hold you, make love to you, but I refuse to be the one who makes that decision for us.” 

Emma smiled in relief. He wanted her, he just didn’t want to rush her. She leant forward to kiss him before returning to the cookies. Emma was way more cheerful as they decorated the cookies. 

They spent the next couple hours curled together on the couch. They switched between watching television and making out. Emma got up and walked in the kitchen about 1430 and began to cook their meal. 

At 1700, she was placing the baked bacon wrapped chicken, hash brown casserole, and twisted butter croissants on the dining table. Clay moved to help her and they sat down to eat their meal. 

“Oh, Emma. This is the greatest thing I’ve ever tasted.” Clay moaned as he took another bit of chicken. 

“Well, thank you. I’ll have to cook for you more often.” 

“I’d like that. Anytime we spend together would be amazing.” He pecked her lightly on the lips before returning to his plate. After two helpings for Clay, Emma began putting the leftovers away while Clay cleaned up. 

They returned to the couch shortly afterwards with two cups of hot chocolate that Emma made while Clay was doing the dishes. 

“Let’s play Truth or Dare.” Emma suggested and Clay nodded in approval. “ I’ve gone first in all the other games, so it’s your turn.” 

“Okay, Emma, truth or dare?” 

“Truth.” 

“What’s the most attractive thing about me?” 

Emma blushed and closed her eyes before taking a deep breath and looking at him. “Your eyes. They were the first thing I noticed when we met.” They shared a smile before Emma continued, “Truth or Dare?” 

“Truth.”

“Why me?”

“Why you what?”

“Why be with me? You could have any woman in the world. Why would you want an inexperienced girl who’s barely even dated before?”

“Because you're real. You understand me and what I do. You respect my choices and from what I’ve seen, you stand behind the people you love. You're beautiful and compassionate. Strong and sensitive. You are exactly what every SEAL, every man, needs in his life.” 

Clay finished the speech and Emma just stared at him, speechless. “Truth or dare, Em?”

“Truth.” 

“Why me?” He fired her question back at her. 

Emma giggled and whispered, “Because you are everything I’ve ever dreamed about in a partner. I can’t imagine a better choice for me than you. Truth or dare?” 

“Dare.” 

Emma leaned forward and slid her lips against his ear. “Make love to me.” 

Those four words from the soft, gentle voice of the woman he was growing to care about more than anyone in the world made Clay’s body burn. “Are you sure?” Was the only question that came from Clay as he moved his lips lightly across her neck and jawbone. 

“Yes, please.” She whimpered and Clay claimed her mouth. He pulled her into his lap as their hands roamed over each other with want and need. The kiss was almost enough to send Emma over the edge. 

They broke away and Clay moved them towards his bedroom. Emma looked confused when Clay placed her on the bed and didn’t join her, taking a step back. “I want this to be perfect.” 

Clay removed the shirt he had on and Emma’s eyes roamed his perfectly sculpted Adonis-like chest and abdomen. She saw scars from his time in the military and a sense of pride filled her. This brave, courageous, honorable man was all hers. He wasn’t ashamed of his imperfections and neither was she as the thoughts of how many people he saved ran through her head. He was a hero, a warrior and now he was hers. 

He moved back towards her and Emma took the opportunity to place light kisses on his body. First she kissed the scar on his collarbone before moving to the bruise on his chest from the team's latest mission. Her lips caressed from the scar on his side to the one on his shoulder where he had been shot during his first few months with Bravo. 

She placed her hands on the waist of his pants before looking up into his eyes. Emma didn’t see any hesitation so she began pushing the material away from his hips to the floor. She kissed the scar from the shrapnel wound on his right leg before Clay pulled her up towards his mouth. 

He gave her a kiss that would show anyone who was watching that she was the only woman in the world for him. He pulled back and looked into her eyes, asking permission to remove her top. At her nod, he slid the silk shirt up her stomach, over chest and free of her head. His lips moved to her neck where he sucked until a hickey began to form before moving down her collarbone towards her chest. 

Clay kissed the skin around Emma’s bra before licking a trail down the valley between her breasts. A front clasp held the fabric together. She gasped as he undid it with his teeth and let it fall away, leaving her rounded breasts completely exposed to him. Emma writhed beneath Clay as his wet tongue met her skin, circling her perky nipple before he closed his lips around it to suckle. He released it with a small pop and kissed to her other breast to lavish it with the same attention.

Clay proceeded down her body until he reached her pants. He paused for a moment until Emma lifted her hips towards him, urging him to continue undressing her. He pulled the garment down her legs to reveal a pair of tiny snow white lace panties. Clay groaned as he hardened in his boxers and ran his fingers over the wet patch causing Emma to shudder. His lips came into contact with her through the lace and Emma grabbed the bed sheets to keep from jumping. 

He sucked her clit through the thin lace until she begged him to take them off. Using his teeth, Clay removed the garment before briefly returning his mouth to her heaving breasts. He kissed a trail down her stomach until he reached her center once again. One by one, He placed her legs over his shoulders and reached up to cup her breasts in his hands. 

“Look at me.” Clay ordered softly. Emma opened her eyes and stared down her body as he took one more look at her before attaching his mouth to her pulsing clit. She moaned loudly as he lightly squeezed her breasts, his tongue teasing the edges of her slit. 

After a few minutes of Clay playing with Emma’s sensitive bud and flicking his tongue in and out of her tiny entrance, he let go of her breasts and slid his hands to her hips. His right pointer finger came down to probe her wet folds and he groaned at how aroused she was. 

“Oh, Emma.” 

His lips returned to her clit and his finger pushed inside her opening. Emma bucked her hips slightly at the intrusion. Clay laid his left hand on her stomach to keep her in place. 

“Oh, please!” 

Clay pumped his finger slowly in and out of her as she adjusted to having something hard and solid inside her. When she seemed comfortable with one finger he carefully added in another, causing Emma to gasp as she felt herself begin to stretch. She clenched around him as his fingers sunk down to his knuckles. He moved his mouth back up to hers and fused them together while she rocked into his hand. Clay rubbed tight circles over her clit with his thumb as he pulled his fingers out to the tip before thrusting them all the way back in. 

“Are you okay?” 

She nodded with a pant. 

“Are you ready for the real thing?” Clay questioned as he kept the rhythm going. 

Emma bit her lip before running her left hand down his front to touch him through his boxers. She squeezed lightly causing Clay to buck against her and curl his fingers inside her. Emma released a squeal as he grazed a sensitive spot she didn’t even know existed. His face lit up as if he had won the jackpot and Clay proceeded to focus on curling his fingers relentlessly against the pleasure center, sending Emma into an orgasm that wracked through her body as she called his name. 

They shared a kiss as she came down and Clay worked himself out of his boxers. He settled between her legs and reached for a condom but Emma stopped him. 

“I’m on the pill.”

“Are you sure about this?”

She nodded her head and shifted her hips against his. Clay took himself in hand and rubbed his length against her, making sure she was ready for him. He looked down into her darkened blue eyes. 

“I wish you were my first too.” Clay whispered before taking Emma’s lips and entering her. Tears filled her eyes as his words registered. She could feel her walls stretch to accommodate his impressive length. 

He paused halfway in to allow her time to adjust. 

“Oh Clay!” Emma sobbed while her fingers dug into his biceps. 

“Baby, are you okay?” He grunted, sweat beading at his temples as he tried to stop himself from taking her. 

Emma nodded her head rapidly and lifted her lips to his. 

“Clay, please, I want you.” 

With her permission, he continued to push forward until he was completely sheathed. Emma wrapped her legs around Clay’s waist and he began to slowly pump his hips. Their tempo gradually increased as they found a rhythm, their bodies getting to know each other in a new and intimate way. Soon the bed began to creak and rock at their passionate pace. Emma panted and moaned as she undulated her hips to meet each of his thrusts. 

“Em, I’m close.” 

“Me too.” 

Clay lifted her and shifted into a new position, causing Emma to squeal as he slid even deeper than before. Emma scrapped her nails down his back and dropped her forehead to his shoulder as she bounced up and down in his lap. His powerful thrusts curled her toes and his pelvis rubbed against her bundle of nerves over and over until she shattered, screaming his name in ecstasy. Grunting as Emma orgasmed on his cock, Clay’s pace increased at the feeling of her walls clenching down around him. He followed shortly after, finishing inside her with a satisfied groan. 

Clay moved them back down on the bed, still connected to Emma. Their lips met in small, light kisses as they shared short chuckles and smiles. 

“Mmmm, wow.” Clay murmured as he looked into her beautiful eyes. 

“That was amazing!” Emma returned and giggled again as she ran her hand down his side. “Oh.” She gasped as she felt him harden once again inside her. 

“That's what you do to me, everyday.” He smirked and began pulling out of her tight sheath. Emma wrapped her legs around him to stop his exit. 

“I want you again.” Emma proclaimed and captured his lips in a rough, dominating kiss. 

“Are you sure? You aren’t sore are you?” He wanted to make sure that she wasn’t just doing this because his body was ready to go. 

“I love you, Clay. Please.” 

“This time you’re on top.” He flipped them over and Emma shrieked at the sudden movement. She was nervous as they moved into the new position, ‘what if I’m not good at this?’. Clay noticed she was anxious and pulled her down until their chests were touching. 

“What’s wrong?” He brushed her hair over her shoulder and caressed the smooth skin of her back. 

“I’m afraid that it won’t be good for you if I do all the work.” She confessed and Clay scoffed.

“Baby, I love you. And I promise you that you aren’t going to do anything wrong.” 

She sighed and kissed him lightly before sitting up. Placing her hands on his chest, Emma proceeded to tentatively shift her hips. Clay’s breath caught in his throat and his eyes closed at the sensation of her slowly rocking above him. His hands slid over her bottom to grasp her thighs and help her find a rhythm. She started to feel more comfortable after a few minutes and began moving faster, swiveling and rotating her hips which caused Clay to groan. 

“Oh baby, you feel so good around me.” 

With that, Emma gained more confidence and dragged his hands up her torso to place them on her breasts. She braced herself on Clay’s broad shoulders while he plucked at her sensitive nipples and began bouncing faster. Her moans rose sharply in pitch when he braced his feet against the bed to thrust up into her, meeting the rise and fall of her hips. The ends of her long blonde hair tickled the tops of his thighs as she threw her head back in pleasure at the delicious stretch, grinding her clit into the base of his cock until she felt him harden and throb inside her. Her orgasm was triggered by the feeling of the hot liquid bathing her inner walls and she collapsed forward against his chest, breathless and euphoric. 

“I love you.” 

“I love you too.”

Clay&Emma----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Clay&Emma

Still wrapped around each other, Clay and Emma woke up the next morning to the sound of her phone ringing. Emma made a disgruntled sound as she uncurled herself from Clay’s warm body. She cracked one eye open to look at the screen and saw that her dad was calling. 

“Hello.”

“Hi, sweetheart. How are you?”

Emma looked at Clay who was still peacefully snoozing beside her and smiled. “Honestly, daddy, this has been the greatest week of my life. How are you guys? When are y'all coming back?”

“We just left so we’ll be home around 1400. Do we need to pick you up or will Spenser bring you home?”

Emma was hit with a wave of disappointment because she knew that her bubble with Clay was about to burst. “Clay will bring me home.” 

“Okay, princess. We will see you soon.”

“Bye.” She hung up and rolled over so that she was pressed against Clay’s side. She kissed his jaw and trailed her lips down to suck at the skin of his neck. Clay hummed and wrapped his arms around her, shifting so that he could kiss her. 

“Good morning, my love.”

“Good morning, handsome.” She smiled for a moment but then it faltered. Clay noticed immediately and nudged her. 

“What’s wrong?”

“Everyone’s coming back today and I’m worried that what happened here this week will change when everyone gets back.”

“Hey, that’s not going to happen. I promise.” 

“What are we going to tell them?”

“The truth. That we realized we wanted to be together and that this is serious.” They made eye contact and he could see her waiver. “This is serious, isn’t it?”

“Yes! Of course, it is.” She rushed to reassure him. “But I’m worried about how they’re going to react. Clay, they’re not going to take us being a couple well. If anything, dad and Uncle Sonny will kill you!” 

“No they won’t.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” She cautioned, thinking back to every other relationship that had stalled because of her dad and her uncles.

“We can handle it.” Clay insisted, kissing her forehead. Emma laid her head down on his shoulder and tried not to think too hard about what waited for them when they came clean.

“I’ll take your word for it.” 

Clay&Emma----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Clay&Emma

The team arrived at Jason’s house at 1350 and they were getting the luggage out of the SUV when Clay and Emma pulled into the driveway. Emma took a deep breath and squeezed Clay’s hand before getting out of the truck and walking towards her family. 

“Hey, it’s good to see you, Sunshine.” 

“You too, Uncle Sonny.” She looked at Clay who came to stand beside her and took another deep breath. “We have something to tell you.”

Bravo and the spouses/girlfriends stood with an expectant look on their faces. 

Emma laced her fingers with Clay’s and smiled. “Clay and I are dating.” 

All of the men stood their blinking while the ladies darted their eyes between the guys and the newly proclaimed couple. 

“Daddy, will you please say something?” 

Jason opened his mouth then closed it, struggling to find the words. 

“If Jase doesn’t have anything to say, I’ll go. What in the Sam Hill do you mean by dating? Like dating each other? Because that sure as hell will never happen!” Sonny was the first member of the team out of his shocked state.

Clay and Emma ignored Sonny’s outburst and held their breaths waiting for Jason’s response.

“When… how…why?” Was all Jason managed to get out. His face a mixture of disbelief and disgust. 

“Daddy....”

“No, this is not happening! I forbid it.” He finally came out of his shock. 

“Daddy, it’s already happened.” 

“Well make it unhappen!” 

“Jase, I love Emma. This isn’t a game, this isn’t a fling. This is real.” Clay was completely sincere, which made the women decide that this wasn’t the worst thing that could happen. 

“Jason,” Alana calmly called for his attention. “she’s an adult. This isn’t your decision to make.”

Jason frowned and looked between his daughter and his rookie. He saw the way Clay stood tall and stiff as if bracing himself for a fight and Emma, who’s expression bordered on defiant while she pressed against him with her arms wrapped around his bicep. He knew a losing battle when he saw one.

“Fine.” Jason threw his hands up, stomping back to the SUV to grab more bags. The guys followed after him, dumbfounded. Jason’s sanity was called into question as they all scrambled into the house behind him leaving Clay and Emma with their female counterparts.

The silence was broken by Davis stepping forward and clapping her hand on his shoulder.

“Merry Christmas, Spenser! Hope you enjoy running hills for the rest of your life.” She smirked.

Clay heaved a resigned sigh before looking down at Emma. He couldn’t help but smile at her hopeful expression and slung his arm to rest over her shoulders. Pulling her further into his side, he kissed her temple before turning back to Davis.

“It’s totally worth it.”


	19. Sparring Session

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is a little something for you guys! I rewrote it several times and I couldn’t get it perfect but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Let me know if there is something you want to see me write!

Bravo Team stood inside their cage room when Emma Hayes came stomping in with an aggravated look on her beautiful face. 

“Daddy, what the hell is this?” She shoved the piece of paper she had in his face.

“It’s a brochure for self-defense classes. With your mom gone, I thought that you should know how to defend yourself, especially when I am away on a mission.”

“Daddy, I do know how to defend myself. I’ve taken Judo since I was little.”

“Judo is not going to help you if someone is trying to kill you. You are taking this self-defense class. A former SEAL friend of mine is teaching it.” 

“No, I do not want to take this class.”

“I want you trained by someone that I know and can rely on.” Before Emma could say anything else, Jason continued. “If you won’t take this class, one of us will just teach you.” He pointed to Bravo.

“Do I at least get to pick which one of you torture’s me?” Emma crossed her arms. 

“That’s a little dramatic but yes.”

“Fine, Clay.” Clay, who had been ignoring the conversation, turned the look at his boss and Emma. 

“What?” Jason looked astonished.

“You said I could pick any member of Bravo, and I choose Clay.” 

Jason began to protest, but Emma cut him off. “Either Clay is the one who trains me, or I don’t take your self-defense class. Your choice.” Emma turned around so that she was facing Clay, “I’ll see you Saturday at 0900 at your apartment. Here is my cell number. Text me the address.” She left the cage room without saying another word. 

Sonny was the first to recover from the outburst, “why would princess want Bam-Bam to teach her?” He looked around the room for an explanation before his eyes landed on Clay, who threw his hands up defensively. 

“Hey, I’m just as surprised as any of you!” 

“You don’t mind?” Jason glanced over at the kid.

“No, if it will keep you and Emma from killing each other.”

Saturday morning came around, and Clay was in the process of moving furniture out of the living room so he and Emma could spar. At precisely 9:00, there was a knock on Clay’s door. He moved to opened the door and saw Emma Hayes smiling on the other side.

“Morning, Clay.”

“Hey, good morning.”

“You don’t mind doing this, right? I did kind of volunteer you. I hope you didn’t have plans.” She smiled bashfully at him.

“No, no, just spending the day here at home,” Clay clapped his hands, “what do you want to do first?”

“I couldn’t persuade you not to train me, right?”

“Uh, no. Jason gave me specific instructions.”

“Ugh, fine. What’s first?” 

“Let’s talk about how you can get out of a hold.” Clay spent the next thirty minutes telling her about different techniques for escaping chokeholds, being pinned against the wall, and being held in an uncomfortable position. 

They practiced for a couple of hours until they decided to stop and order lunch. 

“After lunch, we can work on throws.” 

“Sounds good to me.”

“You are catching on to this, Em.” 

“Thanks, Clay. I really appreciate you doing this for me.”

“Can I ask you a question, Emma?” Clay was moving the coffee table back in front of the couch. 

“Sure.” She sat down and patted the cushion beside her.

“Why did you choose me?” 

“Because I didn’t want to have to deal with dad or Uncle Sonny or any of the other guys. Don’t get me wrong; I love them but think about it. Dad would have been too serious. Uncle Ray would have treated me like the little girl he still sees me as. Uncle Sonny probably wouldn’t have been serious at all and talked the entire time. Uncle Trent wouldn’t teach me anything that could cause me injury. Uncle Brock would have been silent the entire time and just observed.” 

Clay laughed at her accurate description of the team.

“Okay, I see your point.” 

“I’m glad that you agree.” 

There was a knock on the door. Clay moved towards the door, took the pizza, tipped the delivery man, and move back to Emma. They spent the next hour eating, laughing, and getting to know each other. Once they had finished off the pizza and their food has settled, Clay moved the table out of the way and they began practicing again. 

Clay and Emma stood face to face as he moved to attempt an attack. She was quick and flipped him over her hip before landing on top of him to hold him on the ground. 

Clay looked shocked as Emma sat on his stomach with a proud expression.

“Are you all right, Petty Officer Spenser?”

“Uh, yeah. That was good.”

“I am a black belt in Judo, throws are my specialty.” 

“I’ll have to remember that.”

“So, does this mean that we are finished for today?” 

“Got a hot date or something?”

“No, I thought we could just hang out for the rest of the day unless you have a hot date.” 

Clay quickly flipped them until he was settled between her legs. “I haven’t had a hot date in a while, just so you know.”

Both leaned in and their lips met in a hesitant kiss. Emma slipped her arms around his neck and brought him closer to her. Clay’s hands ran over her body and moaned as he felt her perfect body under him. Emma ran her hands down his shoulders and his back, appreciating how the muscles constricted. Her hands made it to the front of his shirt to tug the shirt over his head. Clay pulled away from Emma, grabbed the back of his shirt with one hand, and pulled it off of his body, throwing it carelessly across the room. His mouth moved from hers to her neck and began to nibble, making Emma moan lightly. Emma unzipped her workout jacket and took it off, leaving her in a sports bra and her shorts. 

They laid together on Clay’s living room floor wrapped in each other’s arms. Emma flipped Clay over on his back and began kissing down his neck and chest. Before she reached the waistband of his gym shorts, he grabbed her and pulled her back to him. 

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yes.”

“If we do this, if we cross this line, there is no going back.”

“I know that.” 

They stared into each other’s eyes before Clay moved Emma off of his lap.

“What-” Clay cut her off by sweeping her into his arms and moving towards his bedroom.

“We are not doing this on a dirty floor in my living room. I respect you more than that.”

Clay carried Emma into his bedroom and gently placed her on the bed before finishing undressing them both. Clay kisses Emma’s neck, chest, stomach, and thighs until she was hot and bothered. He moved his head to her center licking between her folds. He was sucking on her clit at the moment he slides two fingers inside her. Emma practically screamed Clay’s name in pleasure as she almost went over the edge. She had one hand in his hair and another gripping the sheets when she climaxed. Clay slid back up her body, placing light kisses on her overstimulated body. He rubs his hardened length against her opening and captured her lips in a passionate kiss as he began pushing inside her.

He slides all the way inside her and groans.

Emma grabbed his shoulders and was breathlessly panting as she tried to adjust to him. As she relaxed against him, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and legs around his back. Clay begins thrusting in and out. 

Clay was thrusting inside her while he’s on top of her until he put his arms on her hips and lifted them into a sitting position with her on his lap. She wraps her legs around his waist and screeches loudly as he hits in a particularly deep spot. 

“Clay… I’m gonna.” Emma rasped out as she placed her forehead against his shoulder. 

“Me too. Emma are you…”

Emma cut him off with a light kiss and nodded her head before placing her forehead against his. 

Clay groaned and thrust deep inside her, hitting her cervix, and came with a heavy “Emma.”

Emma came right behind him after feeling his warm release coat her insides. “Clay!” 

As both came down from their high, Clay shifted them to lay flat on the bed. Both were gasping for breath. Emma laid her head on his chest tentatively. She wasn’t sure how to act after what had happened between them. 

“Are you okay?” Clay asked in a low voice as he began playing with her hair.

“Yeah, are you?” Emma looked up at him.

“I’m better than I have been in a long time.” His answer made Emma blush lightly. 

Emma rose up lightly and shifted over him slightly, “should we talk about what happened?”

Clay ran his hands up and down her arms before sighing, “later.”

He pulled her closer to him and kissed her lightly on the mouth. “Let’s just enjoy the moment.”


End file.
